On August 30, 2022, CDC sent Health Advisory CDCHAN-00473. The advisory covered variant influenza viruses. These are flu viruses that usually spread in pigs and sometimes infect people.
The 2022 cases
- In August 2022, five people had variant flu infections: three with influenza A(H3N2)v and two with influenza A(H1N2)v.
- Three of the cases were in West Virginia, one in Oregon and one in Ohio.
- Four of the five people had contact with pigs or went to an agricultural fair before they got sick.
- No one went to the hospital or died, and CDC found no spread from person to person.
Since 2005, the U.S. had identified 504 variant flu infections, most of them linked to pigs or fairs. Symptoms were like seasonal flu: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches and headache. CDC expected more cases as the fair season continued.
Advice for the public
- People at higher risk of flu complications were told to avoid pigs and swine barns at fairs that year. This group included children 5 years and younger, adults 65 and older, pregnant people, people with weak immune systems, and people with conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease or neurological conditions.
- Everyone was told to wash hands before and after contact with animals, to not eat or drink in animal areas, and to avoid close contact with animals that look sick.
- People with flu-like symptoms after contact with pigs were told to tell their health care provider about that contact.
Advice for clinicians
CDC asked clinicians to ask patients with flu-like illness about recent contact with pigs, to collect a nasopharyngeal swab for testing at a state public health laboratory, and to give antiviral treatment to patients who were in the hospital, very sick or at higher risk.
For other flu guidance, see Widespread Influenza Activity and Severity in West Virginia and Health Advisory #205, from September 2022.
This guidance is from August 2022. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.