Brazilian woman dies of swine flu: first death in decades sparks terror and CDC investigation
US health chiefs are investigating the death of a Brazilian woman who became the first swine flu victim in decades.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan to examine samples collected from the patient, 42, who died of a spread of an H1N1 variant in pigs.
Her death earlier last month has raised concerns because she had no direct contact with pigs – which could indicate further transmission from someone else.
The woman had two close contacts who worked on a nearby farm, but both tested negative for flu and never had respiratory symptoms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the risk to the public was still “low” and there was “no evidence” of further transmission.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials plan to examine samples collected from the patient, 42, who died of an H1N1 variant that spread in pigs (stock image)
Occasional spillover effects of H1N1 swine flu are recorded in the US each year, normally associated with farm workers or stock exchanges, but these rarely prove fatal.
There were six cases recorded last year, the most recent being recorded in September at a Michigan fairground. In this case, the patient had come into contact with an infected pig.
Scientists are concerned that the next pandemic could come from flu viruses ? such as H1N1 ? that can be spread by pigs.
An H1N1 subtype jumped from pigs to humans in 2009 and spread rapidly, leading to the 2009-2010 swine flu outbreak.
In the US alone, this led to more than 60 million infections and 12,600 deaths, estimates suggest. There were 284,000 deaths worldwide.
Most people who contract swine flu experience a mild illness that clears up within a few days.
But children under the age of five, older adults, and people with underlying conditions are at particular risk from the virus because they tend to have weaker or immature immune systems.
The case in Brazil was noticed in the southern state of Parana and the woman died two days after being hospitalized.
The person was reported to have developed a fever, headache, sore throat and abdominal pain on May 1 this year.
She was hospitalized on May 3 with an acute respiratory infection and shifted to intensive care the following day. She died on May 5.
Brazil first notified the WHO of the matter on June 7, after tests showed her illness was caused by a subtype of H1N1 linked to infections in pigs.
It was not clear how the patient became infected, although investigators have focused on two close contacts who worked at a nearby pig farm.
A WHO spokesman said: ‘Based on the information currently available, the WHO considers this to be a sporadic case and there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of this event.
“The likelihood of community-level spread to humans and/or international spread of disease through humans is low.”
A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added, ?Given the severity of the disease of recent human cases, the CDC has also been talking with partners about the feasibility of increased surveillance efforts among critically ill patients. persons in the ICU during the summer. months, when seasonal flu activity is further low.?
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