The virus outbreak started in China but has slowly converged to the United States. The virus is known to attack red blood cells paralyzing the infected person from head to toe. So far the virus has a death rate of 97.8 percent and even if survived can leave victim incapacitated. On 4 August 2023, the United States International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point informed PAHO/WHO of a human infection with a novel influenza A(H1N2) variant virus identified in the State of Michigan. This was confirmed by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction at the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 2.
The case was not hospitalized and is recovering from the illness. Investigations by local public health officials identified swine exposure by the patient at an agricultural fair.
Additional public health response efforts including enhanced surveillance for cases is undergoing. Given the potential impact on public health, human infections with these viruses need to be monitored closely. In this event, there was no reported evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, the illness was mild and no further influenza variant virus transmission in the community has been identified.