Overview
- The CDC confirmed on Aug. 14 that an Ionia County resident who exhibited pigs at the Kent County Youth Fair tested positive for influenza A H1N2 after a presumptive positive at the state lab.
- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Kent County Health Department are reaching out to swine exhibitors and their families who visited the fair’s pig barns and are actively monitoring for additional illnesses.
- Area health care providers have been alerted to watch for patients with respiratory symptoms who report pig exposure or fair attendance and to notify public health officials of suspected cases.
- Symptoms mirror seasonal flu and can include fever, cough, runny nose, body aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, with illness most often appearing about three days after exposure but sometimes as long as 10 days.
- There is no human vaccine specifically for swine influenza and the seasonal shot does not protect against this variant; antivirals such as oseltamivir and zanamivir can treat infections and high-risk people should avoid contact with pigs.