Study Confirms Need for Molecular Surveillance of Swine Flu Viruses

Swine influenza viruses isolated in 1983, 2002 and 2009 in Sweden exemplify different lineages and confirm the need for continued molecular surveillance according to researchers working in Sweden and Hungary.

28 December 2010

3 minute read

István Kiss, working at Sweden's National Veterinary Institute and co-authors in Hungary and at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have published their studies of recent swine influenza viruses in a recent issue of Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.

Swine influenza virus isolates originating from outbreaks in Sweden from 1983, 2002 and 2009 were subjected to nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, they explain.

The aim of the studies was to obtain an overview on their potential relatedness as well as to provide data for broader scale studies on swine influenza epidemiology. Nonetheless, analysing archive isolates is justified by the efforts directed to the comprehension of the appearance of pandemic H1N1 influenza virus.

Kiss and co-authors say that their study illustrates the evolution of swine influenza viruses in Europe because the earliest isolate belonged to 'classical' swine H1N1, the subsequent ones to Eurasian 'avian-like' swine H1N1 and reassortant avian-like swine H1N2 lineages, respectively. The latter two showed close genetic relatedness regarding their PB2, HA, NP, and NS genes, suggesting common ancestry. The study substantiates the importance of molecular surveillance for swine influenza viruses.

Reference

Kiss I., Á. Bálint, G. Metreveli, E. Emmoth, F. Widén, S. Belák and P. Wallgren. 2010. Swine influenza viruses isolated in 1983, 2002 and 2009 in Sweden exemplify different lineages. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 52:65. doi:10.1186/1751-0147-52-65.