Swine Flu Virus Mutated to Two New Strains in South Korean Test; Is It a Danger for Humans?

The swine flu disease has made a strong comeback this summer and has reportedly transformed to two new mutations.

Last month, Latinos Post reported an a strain of the swine flu detected in southwest Ohio and how it affected nearly a dozen people following a trip to a state fair. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated the variant of the H3N2 from the flu virus was detected.

According to a local CBS affiliate in Minnesota, on Monday, the swine flue virus was tested positive on a teenage boy following a visit at a state fair. Pigs were present at the fair. The latest is the fourth positive case in Minnesota after seeing pigs at the fair.

Some of the symptoms include body aches, cough, fever, sore throat, nausea, and diarrhea.

The swine flu virus has also made its way to South Korea, according to a report in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

The difference in the findings in Korea is the virus was not affecting the pigs but when the virus was put into ferrets, they eventually died.

Ferrets, according to NPR, are mammals that are considered like humans when it comes to influenza. When the virus on put into the ferrets, it turned to two new mutations. The ferrets died within 10 days and easily transmitted the virus to other animals.

"We scanned the database to look whether or not this particular mutation is showing up in swine influenza viruses or viruses transmitted from pigs to people and we don't find that mutation in nature," chief flu researcher Nancy Cox of the CDC to NPR's Shots.

According to ABC Rural, Influenza scientist Ian Barr said its still unknown as to how the new strains (H1N2 and H3N2) can affect humans.

"Not everything is identical but many parts of them are similar; they're very mild in pigs," said Barr. "It's just when they get into another host that some different mechanisms are operating and some of these viruses can be quite lethal in ferrets and mice. Sometimes these things can give you a little surprise and we certainly need to understand more about the evolution of viruses in the swine herds."

The 2009 outbreak of the swine flue killed between 151,700 and 575,400, according to the CDC, worldwide.