Concurrent #Detection of #Swine-Origin #Influenza #H1N1 Virus in #Pigs and #Farmer, #Switzerland

 

Abstract

We report zoonotic transmission of Eurasian avian-like swine influenza A(H1N1) virus from pigs to a farmer. The pigs and farmer experienced influenza-like illness. Whole-genome sequencing revealed >99.9% isolate sequence identity between hosts. Our findings highlight the risk posed by enzootic swine influenza A virus and the need for genomic and epidemiologic surveillance.

Source: 

Link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/6/25-1487_article

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#Switzerland, #Patient with a #hantavirus #infection being treated in hospital (Min. of Health, May 6 '26)

 

Bern, 06.05.2026 — One person with a hantavirus infection is currently being treated at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ). 

The patient is male and returned to Switzerland after travelling on the cruise ship on which there were a number of hantavirus cases. 

The USZ is prepared to deal with such cases, is able to care for the patient, and guarantee the safety of staff and all patients. 

There is currently no danger to the Swiss public.

One person has tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland. The man had returned from a trip to South America with his wife at the end of April. 

Having noticed symptoms, he telephoned his GP and went to the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) for further assessment. 

There, he was immediately placed in isolation. A test that was carried out at the reference laboratory at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) revealed a positive result for hantavirus. 

It concerns the Andes virus, a hantavirus that occurs in South America. 

Unlike the European hantaviruses, which are transmitted through excretions of infected rodents, for the American hantavirus variant, person-to-person transmission has also been documented in rare cases. 

However, transmission only occurs through close contact. 

The FOPH therefore considers the occurrence of further cases in Switzerland unlikely. 

The risk to the public in Switzerland is low.

The patient’s wife accompanied him on the trip. She has not yet shown any symptoms but is self-isolating as a precaution. 

The cantonal authorities are currently investigating whether the patient came into contact with other people during the infectious period. 

Appropriate safety measures are in place at the USZ for the patient's treatment. The USZ is the reference hospital for such diseases.

The FOPH is in close contact with other bodies, such as the Zurich cantonal authorities, Zurich and Geneva university hospitals and the WHO, is coordinating with them on an ongoing basis, and is monitoring developments closely.

Hantavirus fever is rare in Switzerland. In recent years there have been between 0 and 6 reported cases a year. Of these few cases, the vast majority are attributable to infections acquired abroad.

Source: 

Link: https://www.bag.admin.ch/en/newnsb/p--A7yPSfxdBqR0N9kZMC

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#Hantavirus #outbreak {in cruise ship}: Another #passenger contracts disease {total so far 8, of these 3 confirmed} (UN News Centre, May 6 '26)

 

It’s been confirmed that another passenger from the cruise liner linked to the outbreak of hantavirus has contracted the disease, which has claimed the lives of three people on board and sparked an international alert coordinated by the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

The individual, who is male, had been travelling on the Dutch-flagged vessel, the Hondius, at the centre of the outbreak. 

He is being treated in a Zurich hospital after returning to Switzerland and responding to an email from the ship’s operator.

“In line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited,” the agency said in a post on X.

As of Wednesday, three of the ship’s 147 passengers have died since it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina, to its current berth off the coast of Cabo Verde, according to the WHO. 

On X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that three passengers “have just been evacuated” from the ship and were en route to the Netherlands for treatment.

“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” Tedros stressed.

Expedition ship

Publicly available data indicates that the vessel was built in Croatia and launched in June 2018. The Hondius is around 108 metres long and is listed under ship identification number 9818709 with the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

The vessel has capacity for 196 passengers and 72 crew; it is named after the 17th century map publisher and engraver Jodocus Hondius. 

The expedition ship’s maiden voyage in 2019 took it from Vlissingen in the Netherlands to the volcanic island of Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen in the Arctic Circle.

The UN agency said that the victims may have been infected with the disease prior to boarding. It has reported eight cases of infection so far, including three confirmed as Andes hantavirus by laboratory testing.

On Tuesday, the WHO said that one individual was in intensive care in South Africa, although their condition was “improving”. 

Work to identify the virus has involved the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). The Pasteur Institute in Dakar and Argentina’s National Administration of Health Laboratories and Institutes also provided further “critical” support, WHO noted.

Patient care is ‘highest priority’

“WHO will continue to work with countries to ensure that the patients, contacts, passengers and crew have the information and support they need to stay safe and prevent spread,” the agency said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, WHO said that the “highest priority” was to evacuate the two ill passengers still on board “to make sure that they have the care that they receive”.

Once the ship reaches the Canary Islands, the agency’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove explained that the Spanish authorities would carry out a full epidemiological investigation and full disinfection of the ship, before assessing the risk passengers remaining on board.

“We have heard from quite a few people, you know, on the boat. We just want you to know we are working with the ship's operators. We are working with the countries where you are from. We hear you. We know that you are scared.” said Dr. Van Kerkhove, WHO Director (a.i) Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, speaking to journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.

As a precaution, passengers have been asked to remain in their cabins while disinfection and other public health measures are carried out. 

Source: 

Link: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167449

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History of Mass Transportation: the Swiss SBB Am 4/6 Gas Turbine Locomotive

 

By Unknown author - Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Band 119, Heft 20, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29931439

Source: 

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas-turbine_locomotive#/media/File:SBB_Am_4-6.JPG

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History of Mass Transportation: The Zentralbahn De 110 005-6 Electric Locomotive in Meiringen BE, Switzerland

 

Par Paebi — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1054053

Source: 

Link: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zentralbahn

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History of Mass Transportation: The EC 250 ''Giruno'' Electric Multiple Unit Train

Par Daniel Wipf — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59022313

Source: 

Link: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_250_%C2%AB_Giruno_%C2%BB

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#Switzerland - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

 

{By Diliff - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1385555}

Following the detection of HPAI H5N1 in a greylag goose found dead near the lake Biel on 4 November 2025, an infected area of 3 km around the three lakes in vicinity of the site of detection has been put in place. Within this area, measures of increased disease awareness, biosecurity and notification obligations have to be followed by poultry owners.

A wild Greylag Goose found dead in Bern Region.

Source: WOAH, https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6985

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An ancient #influenza #genome from #Switzerland allows deeper #insights into host #adaptation during the 1918 flu #pandemic in #Europe

Abstract

Background

From 1918 to 1920, the largest influenza A virus (IAV) pandemic known to date spread globally causing between 20 to 100 million deaths. Historical records have captured critical aspects of the disease dynamics, such as the occurrence and severity of the pandemic waves. Yet, other important pieces of information such as the mutations that allowed the virus to adapt to its new host can only be obtained from IAV genomes. The analysis of specimens collected during the pandemic and still preserved in historical pathology collections can significantly contribute to a better understanding of its course. However, efficient RNA processing protocols are required to work with such specimens.

Results

Here, we describe an alternative protocol for efficient ancient RNA sequencing and evaluate its performance on historical samples, including a published positive control. The phenol/chloroform-free protocol efficiently recovers ancient viral RNA, especially small fragments, and maintains information about RNA fragment directionality through incorporating fragments by a ligation-based approach. One of the assessed historical samples allowed for the recovery of the first 1918 IAV genome from Switzerland. This genome, derived from a patient deceased during the beginning of the first pandemic wave in Switzerland, already harbours mutations linked to human adaptation.

Conclusion

We introduce an alternative, efficient workflow for ancient RNA recovery from formalin-fixed wet specimens. We also present the first precisely dated and complete influenza genome from Europe, highlighting the early occurrence of mutations associated with adaptation to humans during the first European wave of the 1918 pandemic.

Source: BMC Biology, https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-025-02282-z

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The #Swiss national #program for #surveillance of #influenza A viruses in #pigs and #humans: genetic variability and zoonotic transmissions from 2010 – 2022

Abstract

Influenza A viruses (IAV) are likely candidates for pandemics. This report summarizes the results of the Swiss national program for surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs and transmissions to humans between 2010 and 2022. Challenges and optimization options in the program are discussed. Nasal swabs or lung tissue samples from pigs with influenza-like signs (e.g. fever, cough) were screened by real-time RT-PCR for swine influenza virus (SIV) genomes, including that of the 2009 pandemic strain A(H1N1)pdm09; positive samples were subtyped for H1, N1, H3 and N2 by RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. In parallel, humans with influenza-like symptoms and recent contact to diseased pigs were asked to self-sample themselves with a nasal swab. Human swabs were tested for IAV and positive swabs further subtyped to identify potential cross-species transmission between swine and humans. In the pigs, SIV was detected in 375 of 674 farm visits. H1N1 is the only subtype detected in Swiss pigs so far. The (H1N1)pdm09 strain (HA clade 1A) was only detected in seven out of 375 SIV positive farm visits. Phylogenetic analyses from partial hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genome sequences indicate that the remaining pigs were infected with the Eurasian avian lineage (HA clade 1C), which is predominant in swine in Europe. The Swiss H1N1 strains form distinct clusters within HA clades 1C.2.1 and 1C.2.2 and seem to evolve comparably slowly. Infection of humans with SIV was identified in five cases. Sequence analysis assigned the five viruses to the Eurasian avian lineage (C), clades 1C.2.1 and 1C.2.2. There was no evidence for sustained human-to-human transmission. Although no critical IAV variants seem to have emerged so far in Switzerland, further surveillance of influenza viruses at the swine-human interface is of major importance.

Source: MedRxIV, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.28.24319114v1

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Retrospective #modelling of the #disease and #mortality burden of the 1918–1920 #influenza #pandemic in #Zurich, #Switzerland

Abstract

Background

Our study aims to enhance future pandemic preparedness by integrating lessons from historical pandemics, focusing on the multidimensional analysis of past outbreaks. It addresses the gap in existing modelling studies by combining various pandemic parameters in a comprehensive setting. Using Zurich as a case study, we seek a deeper understanding of pandemic dynamics to inform future scenarios.

Data and methods

We use newly digitized weekly aggregated epidemic/pandemic time series (incidence, hospitalisations, mortality and sickness absences from work) to retrospectively model the 1918–1920 pandemic in Zurich and investigate how different parameters correspond, how transmissibility changed during the different waves, and how public health interventions were associated with changes in these pandemic parameters.

Results

In general, the various time series show a good temporal correspondence, but differences in their expression can also be observed. The first wave in the summer of 1918 did lead to illness, absence from work and hospitalisations, but to a lesser extent to increased mortality. In contrast, the second, longest and strongest wave in the autumn/winter of 1918 also led to greatly increased (excess) mortality in addition to the burden of illness. The later wave in the first months of 1920 was again associated with an increase in all pandemic parameters. Furthermore, we can see that public health measures such as bans on gatherings and school closures were associated with a decrease in the course of the pandemic, while the lifting or non-compliance with these measures was associated with an increase of reported cases.

Discussion

Our study emphasizes the need to analyse a pandemic's disease burden comprehensively, beyond mortality. It highlights the importance of considering incidence, hospitalizations, and work absences as distinct but related aspects of disease impact. This approach reveals the nuanced dynamics of a pandemic, especially crucial during multi-wave outbreaks.

Source: Epidemics, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755436525000015?via%3Dihub

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Immunization with a novel #RNA replicon #vaccine confers long-lasting #protection against #H5N1 avian #influenza virus in 24 #bird species

Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) of subtype H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) have spread worldwide and caused the death of hundreds of millions of wild birds and domestic poultry. Moreover, spill over of H5N1 HPAIV from infected birds to more than 50 different mammalian species including humans has been recorded. While, licensed vaccines for protection of avian or mammalian species are not yet available, a few candidate vaccines are being trialled. Here, we report on the experimental vaccination of chickens and captive wild birds using a propagation-defective vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), in which the essential envelope glycoprotein (G) protein gene was replaced by a modified hemagglutinin gene derived from a clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 isolated in 2022 in the animal park of Bern, Switzerland. VSV∆G(H5mb) was produced on helper cells providing the VSV G protein in trans. Specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens that were immunized twice via the intramuscular route with adjuvant-free VSV∆G(H5mb) replicon particles induced high levels of virus-neutralizing serum antibodies and were fully protected against lethal infection by H5N1 HPAIV (clade 2.3.4.4b). Notably, immunized animals did not shed challenge virus from the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract, suggesting that herd immunity can be achieved. The same vaccine was used to immunize a total of 317 captive wild birds at Bern Animal Park and Zoo Basel, representing 24 different species. No vaccine-associated side effects were observed. Birds without previous contact to H5Nx viruses produced high to very high H5-specific neutralizing antibody titers following the second immunization, while birds showing H5-specific antibodies prior to vaccination, already developed high neutralizing antibody titers after a single immunization. One year after vaccination, most animals still showed significant neutralizing antibody titers, indicating that VSV∆G(H5mb) is able to induce a long-lasting protective immune response. Our results indicate that VSV∆G(H5mb) is an extraordinary safe and highly efficacious vaccine to stop H5N1 replication in various avian species.

Source: BioRxIV, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.15.633174v1

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