Third case of rare swine flu variant found in southern Manitoba
A third case of a rare swine flu variant has been identified in southern Manitoba.
The variant Influenza H3N2 was detected earlier this month.
The person experienced mild symptoms and was initially tested for COVID-19.
That test came back negative, but further testing discovered the swine flu variant.
The province says the case appears to be isolated and there is no increased risk to people or the food supply chain.
Two other cases of different swine flu variants were identified in people in southern Manitoba in April.
The variants Influenza A H1N2 and A H1N1 also were detected after people were tested for COVID-19 after experiencing mild flu symptoms. Both of the people had had direct or indirect exposure to pigs.
The province says the three cases are unrelated.
There have been 29 cases globally of the H1N2 variant since 2005 when reporting became mandatory. The only other Canadian case was identified in Alberta last year.
The H1N1 variant is also rarely seen in humans. Manitoba's case is the second in Canada following one identified in Ontario in 2012. There were two cases in the United States earlier this year.
All the people have since recovered.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the H3N2 variant was first detected in people in 2011. It says the variant seems to spread more easily to humans from pigs than other swine influenza viruses.
Manitoba health officials and the Agriculture Department have begun a public health investigation to make sure there's no spread of the variant.
The viruses are not food-related and are not transmissible to people through pork meat or other products that come from pigs, the province says.
Health officials have said the cases could have coincidentally been discovered because of increased screening taking place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They say it's also possible there is a true increase in the number of cases.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.