Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang speaks at a news conference in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center

RARE INFECTION? The Council of Agriculture tested pigs at a farm near where the girl lives, but the virus was not detected, the Centers for Disease Control said

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Taiwan's second human case of novel influenza A virus H1N2v has been confirmed in a seven-year-old girl, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (庄人祥) said yesterday.

The CDC on Monday evening issued a news release saying that it received a report in October about a girl infected with an influenza A virus, but the hospital could not identify the variant.

The CDC said it conducted genome sequencing on a sample and determined it to be H1N2v, marking the second case ever found in Taiwan.

The girl — who lives in central Taiwan — on Sept. 24 developed a fever, muscle soreness, loss of appetite, coughing and a runny nose, and was taken to a hospital with a high fever on Sept. 26, when she tested negative for COVID-19, but positive for influenza A, Chuang said.

A doctor diagnosed the girl as having the flu and prescribed antiviral drugs, Chuang said, adding that she returned home that day and gradually recovered.

H1N2v is a low-pathogenic subtype of swine influenza A virus, which occasionally infects humans, who mostly have mild symptoms, he said, adding that the first known case was reported in a five-year-old girl in central Taiwan in April last year .

Since 2011, there have been at least 45 cases of human infection with H1N2v reported worldwide, with the majority having direct exposure to pigs or a contaminated environment, he said.

Six close contacts of the second Taiwan case were tested, but all were negative for the virus and for antibodies against it, Chuang said, adding that after discussions with experts, the CDC believes it to be a sporadic case, similar to those reported overseas.

No person-to-person spread of H1N2v has been confirmed, he said, adding that the Council of Agriculture tested pigs at the farm near where the girl lives, but the virus was not detected.

Asked if H1N2v could cause severe symptoms in humans, Chuang said most cases have had mild symptoms, including the two girls in Taiwan, but some human infections with novel avian influenza A viruses, such as ever H5N1 and H7N9, can cause more symptoms.

The severity of illness also depends on whether the strain has drug resistance, he said.

Separately, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 16,002 new local COVID-19 cases, 32 imported cases and 22 deaths.

The number of local cases is 7.2 percent lower than on Tuesday last week, the CECC said.

The center last week predicted that the daily case number might drop below 10,000 this week, but cases reported on Mondays are generally lower than on other days, so with 10,209 on Monday this week, the daily caseload is unlikely to drop below 10,000 this week week, said Chuang, who is the CECC's spokesman.

However, as daily case numbers have continued to fall, the under-10,000 average might be reached next week, he added.

News source: TAIPEI TIMES