A pig farm in Canada has seen the first documented instance of swine flu being transmitted from humans back into animals, raising concerns that the H1N1 virus at the centre of the outbreak may mutate into a more virulent form.

A Canadian farm worker transmitted the H1N1 virus to the swine herd in Alberta after a trip to Mexico. About 200 pigs from a herd of more than 2,000 developed symptoms, but none have died, health officials said yesterday.

The World Health Organisation was informed of the human-to-pig transmission on Saturday and its officials have since called for increased surveillance of pig farms, especially in countries with H1N1 infection in humans. “If this happened once, it could happen again,” a WHO spokesman said.

Scientists are concerned that the recycling of the H1N1 virus by repeated transmission between humans and pigs may increase the chances of it mutating into a form that could lead to a higher mortality rate in humans.

The WHO said that the virus isolated from the Alberta pig farm seemed to be the same as the one in humans. However, there is a risk that the current wave of “mild” flu may die down in the northern hemisphere this summer and return in the autumn in a more aggressive form.

Source/Full Story::  The Independent

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