German scientists find pigs can spread swine flu

Jul 10, 2009, 14:31 GMT

   Riems, Germany - German scientists said Friday they have established in tests that the new H1N1 influenza type, commonly known as swine flu, is in fact catching between pigs.

The name of the new virus is misleading, since it is primarily a disease of humans. There has been no recorded case of a human catching it from a pig, though pigs have caught H1N1 from humans.

In experiments conducted on the German quarantine island of Riems,

the new virus, first recorded in Mexico, was given to pigs via the nose.

The virus appeared in their body wastes a day later and the animals sneezed, had runny noses and developed mild fever. Other pigs left with them caught the illness within three days, but poultry in the pen did not catch H1N1.

The experiment by Thomas Vahlenkamp is detailed in the current Journal of General Virology.

Previously there was no scientific proof that the new type was infectious between pigs, though cases of infected pigs in Canada and Argentina were known.

The Riems scientists add infection of humans by pigs has not been demonstrated, although researchers theorize that the disease, first noted in Mexico, may have evolved in pigs.

It is called swine flu because it is closely related to an influenza virus found in pigs, but with some features of a human and of a poultry influenza virus.