A recent study by U.S. researchers has found the H1N1 'swine flu' virus now sweeping the world was transmitted to humans several months before being detected by scientists.
Img: Mexican police officers with face masks. Credit: sari huella
The research, published last week in the journal Nature, was co-authored by Michael Worobey, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona.
His report argued that the swine flu virus originated from a number of separate viruses circulating in swine, and concluded that the lack of surveillance of influenza in swine meant such a flu was undetected in the world's pig population for "more than a decade" before being transmitted to humans.
According to a UA statement, Worobey claimed in the study that, "despite widespread influenza surveillance in humans, the lack of systematic swine surveillance allowed for the undetected persistence and evolution of this potentially pandemic strain for many years."
He also said the virus was poorly monitored in pigs.
"Our analyses indicate that this virus circulated for more than a decade unnoticed in pigs, so clearly we need to do a better job monitoring that reservoir," Worobey said. "And once it jumped to humans, it then spread for several months under the radar before it was first noticed, which is troubling."
Worobey said lessons must be learned for the future regarding the generally poor monitoring connected to the current virus.
"We now have a tremendous opportunity to apply the lessons learnt here and get out in front of future emerging influenza strains rather than reacting to them relatively late in the game," Worobey said.
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