With the year’s first case of swine flu in Michigan being found in Berrien County, how concerned should people be? We checked in with Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian to find out. She told us swine flu transmission from pigs to humans is rare.
“There have also been some very limited cases of person to person spread of these variant viruses,” Bagdasarian said. “We are keeping an eye on these just because we know what a problem viruses that cross over from animal populations to human populations can be.”
Bagdasarian says there are a few cases of swine flu in humans each year.
“This is not something that has happened in a widespread way in the past, but we really need to keep an eye on this in the future.”
Bagdasarian says the swine flu has many of the same symptoms as common influenza. However, in some cases, it can lead to more serious illness. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the Berrien County case was in someone who came into contact with a pig at the Berrien County Youth Fair. Those who are around pigs should take the usual steps to be cautious.
