Domuz Gribi November 21, 2009
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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said Friday it has identified a mutated form of the H1N1 flu virus in two patients who died, and a third who developed a severe form of the disease.
The institute said the mutation appeared to make the virus cause infection deeper in the respiratory system, thereby causing more severe disease. The two patients who died were the country’s first confirmed fatalities.
Scientists and public health officials from around the world have been watching closely for possible mutations of the new flu virus, particularly for changes that might make the disease more severe or a vaccine currently being manufactured less effective, but hadn’t identified any major changes. Director General Geir Stene-Larsen said the mutation had been found in only three of 70 viruses from cases in Norway examined by scientists, and doesn’t appear to have spread.
“Based on what we know so far, it seems that the mutated virus does not circulate in the population, but might be a result of spontaneous changes which have occurred in these three patients,” Dr. Stene-Larsen.
The change does not appear to make the vaccine or antiviral treatment less effective, Dr. Stene-Larsen said. “There is no indication that this change in the virus is of any importance for the effect of the vaccine or the effect of antiviral treatment.”
Officials at the World Health Organization couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the mutation would be discussed at a noon news conference.
