Prevalence Of Influenza Viruses Research Articles

The prevalence of influenza viruses in swine and the antigenic and genetic relatedness of influenza viruses from man and swine

Serological and virological surveillance of swine during 1976-77 showed that Hsw1N1 influenza viruses were prevalent throughout the swine population of the U.S., particularly in the northern states. A low incidence of H3N2 virus infections was detected serologically in pigs and confirmed by the isolation of a virus antigenically similar to A/Vic/3/75 from one herd. Both the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens of the human New Jersey isolate, A/NJ/8/76, were indistinguishable from those of selected Hsw1N1 influenza viruses isolated from pigs from 1970 to 1977 and from man in 1976; these antigenically similar viruses were serologically separable from earlier swine viruses. The RNAs from Hsw1N1 viruses were separated by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and the RNA migration patterns among viruses from both species were noticeably different. The only viruses with identical RNA migration patterns were human and swine isolates from the same farm in Wisconsin.