Mutated swine flu doesn't like Shanghai

Although people barely blink at H1N1 news any more (except if you’re the one with the fever), the fact that China has detected eight cases of mutated swine flu has caused a bit of a stir out of fears that these new strains could become more virulent and drug resistant.

Thankfully though, the Associated press reports that “Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center, said that the mutated swine flu virus found China has shown an "isolated" spread in the mainland, is not resistant to drugs and can be prevented by vaccines.”

"We are concerned, but realize that influenza viruses, including A/H1N1, are relatively unstable and change easily, especially as they infect more people," Tan told The Associated Press. "Some mutations can have minimal effects on how a virus functions, while other mutations can create important changes with significant public health impact."

Even with these assurances, the Shanghai Health Bureau officials said yesterday that city's flu-surveillance hospitals had not detected mutations.

Shanghai Daily reports that so far, Shanghai has vaccinated more than 850,000 people among 2.1 million of the city’s “at-risk” population.

By last Thursday, Shanghai had reported 1,688 swine-flu patients (no mutated swine flu), including four serious cases.