Author
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Baker, Amy |
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GAUGER, PHILLIP - Iowa State University |
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Submitted to: Trade Journal Publication
Publication Type: Trade Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/30/2011 Publication Date: 11/7/2011 Citation: Vincent, A.L., Gauger, P.C. 2011. The changing face of swine influenza virus. Pork Magazine. Available: http://www.porknetwork.com/pork/smart-thinking/The-Changing-Face-of-Swine-Influenza-Virus-133249878.html. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: "Flu" in pigs has been known for 90 years and on the surface it may appear as though little has changed. We still suspect flu when a high percentage of pigs have a sudden onset of barking cough, especially during temperature fluctuations in the fall or spring. However, the influenza viruses responsible for current flu outbreaks are quite different than in the past and represent a variable and dynamic population of influenza viruses with increasing genetic diversity. This diversity confounds the ability to stimulate protective immunity through the use of vaccines and occasionally, natural infection. Prior to 1998, only one flu virus (now referred to as the classical H1N1 influenza virus) was responsible for seasonal outbreaks of swine flu. This was the sudden onset of coughing and respiratory distress that dissipated almost as quickly as it started. For roughly 80 years after the human pandemic influenza virus jumped to pigs around 1918, the H1N1 virus remained relatively stable in swine and only sporadic and transient introductions of influenza viruses of another subtype or from another species were suggested by serologic studies. In 1998 a severe influenza-like disease was observed almost simultaneously in pigs in North Carolina, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas. The cause of these outbreaks was a new subtype introduced into swine from the human population and were identified as influenza A viruses of the H3N2 subtype. Unlike the classical H1N1 virus, the H3N2 subtype was a triple reassortant. This means that it contained a mixture of gene segments derived from influenza viruses from swine, human and avian species. The triple reassortant virus quickly became endemic in U.S. swine, due to a lack of immunity to this specific subtype in the general pig population as well as the H3N2 virus' successful adaptation to the swine host. By the end of 1999, the H3N2 virus was detected throughout the Midwest and once established, it didn't take long before other variant influenza viruses began to emerge due to viral reassortment between the H3N2 and classical H1N1 virus. Although the H3N2 virus is currently endemic in North American swine, its introduction had a significant impact on the current and future variation of influenza viruses in pigs. Indeed, there are now three subtypes of swine influenza viruses (H1N1, H3N2 and H1N2) that circulate in the North American swine population. Influenza viruses have a unique genetic structure that consists of eight different gene segments. This is unlike other swine viruses, such PRRSV, PCV2, or pseudorabies virus, which have a single genome. When two different subtypes of influenza virus infect the same pig (such as simultaneous infection with H1N1 and H3N2), gene segments can interchange between viruses through a process called viral reassortment. The influenza viruses that emerge after reassortment can pick up different gene(s) and represent a new variant virus in the swine population that may not be completely cross protected by immunity against the two original viruses. Influenza viral reassortment and the emergence of variant viruses in swine will certainly continue and the resulting genetic and antigenic diversity may have multiple consequences for swine producers. Like humans, some species of birds, and other mammals, swine can be infected with human and avian adapted influenza viruses, which has designated pigs as "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses from different species. This physiology of the swine respiratory tract along with the number of swine-adapted viruses endemic in swine populations around the world may potentially increase the risk of viral reassortment between human, avian and swine influenza viruses. The human 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus was a triple reassortant that became infamously known as "swine flu" due to the suggested origin of the virus in swine. The pandemic |
