Health Advisory #203: Variant Influenza Detected in WV

On August 11, 2022, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health sent Health Advisory #203 to health care providers, hospitals and other health care facilities. The subject was variant influenza, a flu virus that usually spreads in pigs.

Three people tested positive for influenza A (H3N2v) after they attended the Jackson County Junior Fair. All three were younger than 18, and none needed hospital care. These were the first human infections with a flu virus from pigs found in the US in 2022. The state found no ongoing spread between people.

What the state asked of doctors

  • Think of variant flu when a patient has a flu-like illness (fever over 100°F with cough or sore throat) and went to a fair or had contact with pigs. The time from exposure to illness is one to four days.
  • Report any suspected novel influenza A infection to the local health department at once. It is a Category I reportable disease.
  • Consider RT-PCR flu testing before the normal flu season starts in October, and all year for patients with recent pig contact.
  • Tell the local health department about suspected cases. Commercial labs cannot tell seasonal flu from variant flu, so the state public health lab does the testing.
  • Start antiviral treatment at once for suspected cases who are in the hospital, very ill or at high risk. Do not wait for test results.

Later that month, the CDC reported five variant flu cases in the US, three of them in West Virginia. See Variant Influenza Virus Infections: Recommendations for Summer and Fall 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.

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