WHO report alarm: Genetic switch in deadly H1N1 virus

It’s now official. The swine flu virus (human influenza A H3N2) has undergone genetic changes during the latest flu season that began in September 2016. Data collected by the World Health Organisation (WHO) between September 2016 and February 2017 reveals that H3N2 underwent considerable genetic diversification. Swine flu picked up in Hyderabad during November 2016 and peaked during January and February this year. It claimed about a dozen deaths in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. During the period, the 2009 pandemic swine flu strain H1N1 was overshadowed by another strain, H3N2. But while H1N1 did not show any major genetic diversification, H3N2 did exhibit changes. In fact, three types of swine flu viruses have been in circulation in India since September 2016. Two A type and one B type virus affected people. H3N2 and B type viruses were present in India this flu season. The WHO in its latest Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER)...