Focus on sequencing of swine flu virus: immunology expert

India should try to understand if the current H1N1 (swine flu) viral strain is different from that in other parts of the world, probe reasons for its spurt and focus on virus sequencing to know more about the influenza, a US-based immunology expert today said.
"The first question is: are swine flu infections here due to a strain of virus that's different from other parts of the world. The Indian scientists can do it very quickly by sequencing the virus. That information can be generated within a few weeks," Atlanta's Emory Vaccine Centre Director Dr Rafi Ahmed told reporters here.

"It's important to find out why there is an increase in incidence of H1N1 (swine flu) infection in India. The mortality in young children seems to be high. One needs to find out is this a different (virus) strain from the one which is in other parts of the world. That could be an important information. It is very important to get the sequence of the virus to controlling the influenza strain," he said.
"This will be an important information not only for the Indian health officials and scientists to understand what's going on, but also for the world, because if it turns out that a different strain has emerged which has some global implications, the new strain could also spread to other places," Ahmed said.

It is important to figure that out. It can be done easily through geno-typing the swine flu virus that is circulating in India. It's an opportunity and a wake up call for scientists and health officials in India, he said.
There should be an effort towards public awareness to prevent more infections. But, in the long run there is a need to do research on influenza and to understand that the virus is circulating in India and to do more increased analysis and in-depth study to understand the immune responses on the Indian population, he said.