H1N1 Flu in People
 Can humans catch H1N1 flu?
Yes. H1N1 viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with H1N1 have occurred. Sometimes cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs. Other times, H1N1 spreads form person to person. For example, an outbreak of apparent H1N1 flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.
Can people catch H1N1
from eating pork?
No. H1N1 influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get H1N1 influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160F kills the H1N1 virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.
Can I get this flu by touching
pork that is not yet cooked?
No. There is no evidence that the virus is in swine or that touching uncooked pork could infect someone with the virus.
What are the symptoms
of H1N1 in humans?
The symptoms of H1N1 flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and may include:
- fever
- lethargy
- lack of appetite
- coughing
- runny nose
- sore throat
- nausea
- vomiting
- diarrhea
How common is H1N1 flu
infection in humans?
In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human H1N1 influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with H1N1 influenza have been reported.
Is the H1N1 swine virus the
same as human H1N1 viruses?
No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.
How does H1N1 spread?
Human-to-human transmission of H1N1 can occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
Pig-to-person transmittions most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs.
What medications are available to
treat H1N1 infections in humans?
There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most H1N1 viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent H1N1 influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with H1N1 influenza viruses.
What other examples of
H1N1 outbreaks are there?
Probably the most well known is an outbreak of H1N1 flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The H1N1 influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).
Sources: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, USDA, World Health Organization, National Pork Board |
