Two professors at South Dakota State University have received a research grant to study Influenza C, a strain of flu that has been found in swine and cattle.
Professors Feng Li and Radhey Kaushik are conducting research through a two-year $400,000 grant from the National Institute of Health to study the characteristics of Influenza C. This strain of flu has been discovered in swine and cattle in several states across the U.S. The virus has also been found in China.
Kaushik and Li’s goal is to determine whether or not Influenza C will affect humans. Kaushik says that Influenza C has been found in cases of pneumonia.
“There has been no correlation that has been shown that this virus causes pneumonia but it is part of that complex, and that’s what we in this grant are going to look at how this virus plays a role in the diseases in pneumonia and in pigs," Kaushik says. "This is the same virus that causes a problem in both species so there is a intraspecies transmission going on.”
Kaushik says based upon their reports so far, there is no evidence that the virus is harmful to humans.