A man was hospitalized due to contamination with swine influenza influenza, in the Côtes-d'Armor.
The Regional Health Agency calls for particular vigilance in Brittany.
"The National Reference Center (CNR) for respiratory infection viruses at the Institut Pasteur confirmed, on September 3, 2021, a case of human infection with an influenza virus of porcine origin (H1N2) v", reports the ARS in a statement Friday, adding that the patient's clinical condition was "favorable".
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“At this stage, a link between the infection and the exposure of the individual to live pigs in the week prior to the onset of symptoms cannot be confirmed.
No other symptomatic person was detected in the close entourage of the patient ”, specifies the ARS.
As a precaution, the agency still asked "health professionals in the region to carry out a systematic search for influenza viruses in anyone in contact with pigs" and showing symptoms of acute respiratory infection, such as fever, sore throat, headache or cough.
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In addition, the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) was mandated to conduct epidemiological investigations in the breeding of pigs supposed to be the source of the contamination, according to the press release which does not give a geographical indication on the breeding.
Usually mild cases
A few cases of influenza virus transmission to humans have already been detected around the world.
Thus, since January, around ten cases of human infection by A (H3N2) v, A (H1N1) v and A (H1N2) v viruses of porcine origin have been thus confirmed in the United States, Canada, in Taiwan, Denmark and Germany.
Human cases of infection with porcine influenza viruses are generally mild, although a few severe cases have been reported, and "no sustained human-to-human transmission chain has been reported to date," according to the ARS.
At this stage, the virus detected in France is "genetically close to the strain circulating in the French pig herd," said Jérôme Salomon, the Director General of Health, in a press release. However, “analyzes are underway to assess its ability to adapt to humans as well as the risk of human-to-human transmission. "