Still didn't get a flu shot?

If you work in agriculture, especially around pigs, or have contact with someone who does, you might want to rethink that.According to Dr. Luther Rhodes, an infection specialist at Lehigh Valley Health Network, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health alertupdated the occurrence in humans of a different strain of flu, H3N2v, which is found in pigs.Rhodes said this should concern people, because people, pigs and birds can catch the flu from each other."Don't get near sick pigs," he said. "We can catch it."The CDC's website said the first cases of H3N2v in humans were in 2011.One year later, the cases jumped from 12 to 309 with 107 in Ohio. Sixteen people were hospitalized and one person died from the virus. Pennsylvania had three cases in 2011, 11 cases in 2012, and zero since 2013."Although instances of limited person-to-person spread of this virus have been identified in the past, sustained or communitywide transmission of H3N2v has not occurred," the CDC stated.The CDC put out the health alert in July 2013, because a person contracted H3N2v from a pig at an agricultural fair that June.Rhodes is concerned about what could happen if someone carrying a human flu virus, such as H1N1, comes into contact with a pig that is sick with H3N2v.The person could become a mixing vessel for the two strains to intermix and create a totally new virus."It creates the potential for a pandemic strain," he said. "If you work on a farm or are around anyone who does, it's high priority to get vaccinated."This year's vaccines cover Type A with subtypes H1N1 and H3N2, and Type B with subtypes Victoria Lineage and Yamagata Lineage. There is no vaccine for H3N2v, which is the variant virus in pigs.Because the number of cases of H3N2v has dropped significantly in recent years, the CDC categorizes risk of pandemic from it as being moderate to low. Although the chances are low, the CDC is concerned for a couple reasons.• These infections can become severe and cause complications.• H3N2v seems to be able to spread from pigs to humans more easily than other swine flu viruses.• Because viruses are always changing, H3N2v could change and begin to spread easily from one person to another.• CDC studies found that children born after 2001, who were about 9 years old in 2010, have little to no immunity against H3N2v viruses."Adults seem to have more immunity, perhaps because they might have been previously exposed to similar viruses in their lifetimes," the CDC said.As of now, H3N2v has not mixed with any other flu virus known to infect humans.If someone should happen to get sick with H3N2v, it does respond to Tamiflu, Rhodes said.Nolan Thevenet, business manager at Stryker Farm in Saylorsburg, said he hasn't gotten a flu shot in the past and didn't intend to this year. He would consider it though."I just haven't gotten the flu," he said.He said he typically doesn't get sick.Similarly, Bill Moreton, owner of Spring Mountain Farms in Lehighton, said he doesn't get a flu shot either."I never do," he said.Moreton said he eats right and tries to build up his immune system naturally."I keep my body strong enough to fight it off," he said.Thevenet said if there is a sick animal at the farm, they quarantine it, nurse it back to health and only give it antibiotics if it's absolutely necessary."It might be more of a concern for an industrial-sized farm," he said. "Our animals are more spread out. It's less likely to transmit illness."