Why Swine Flu Differs From Seasonal Flu
"Additionally, virus transmission was less effective in ferrets infected intranasally with novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, compared to those infected with contemporary seasonal human influenza viruses," he added.
The reports are published in the July 2 online edition of Science.
When both teams looked at how easily the new H1N1 virus can be transmitted, they came to different conclusions, however.
The Dutch researchers found that the new H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu virus were equally good in infecting the animals.
But Tumpey's team found that the swine flu virus might not be transmitted as easily as the seasonal flu virus. "The novel 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses exhibited less efficient respiratory droplet transmission in ferrets, in comparison to the high-transmissibility of a seasonal H1N1 virus," he said.
Ferrets are used to study influenza because the flu virus affects them in a similar way to humans, the researchers noted.
"One thing we know for sure about influenza viruses is that they are unpredictable," Tumpey added. "The characteristics that the virus is displaying today might not hold true in the upcoming months."
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