Spain has alerted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to a suspected human-to-human transmission of the A(H1N1)v swine flu variant in Catalonia, regional health authorities confirmed on Friday.
The infected person, who has since recovered, showed no flu-like symptoms, and tests on direct contacts indicated no retransmission. According to an El Pais report citing Catalan health department sources, the patient had no contact with pigs, leading experts to conclude that human-to-human transmission had occurred.
This raised concerns over the virus's pandemic potential if it recombines with a human flu strain in a simultaneously infected pig. However, the Catalan health department later assessed the risk to the population as “very low”.
In 2023, the Netherlands notified the WHO of a confirmed human infection with swine influenza in an adult with no history of occupational exposure to animals. The 2009 swine flu pandemic in humans infected millions of people and was caused by a virus containing genetic material from pigs, birds and humans.
