Two Saskatchewan farm workers have contracted a new flu virus strain, which Canadian officials have reported to the World Health Organization. The new strain contains genes from a seasonal human flu strain and a flu virus common in the swine population. The current H1N1 pandemic strain contains human, swine and avian genes. The new strain is not related to the current H1N1 strain that has killed over 400 people worldwide, and is believed to be only of low public health risk. Those who have already received the flu vaccine should have some immunity against this strain.
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.