Boy In Maine Tests Positive For "Unusual" Flu Strain

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine health officials are investigating a case of a young boy coming down with what is being described as an unusual strain of influenza.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the 7- or 8-year-old boy from Cumberland County came down with flu-like symptoms in early October, not long after being exposed to pigs at an agricultural fair.

State Epidemiologist Stephen Sears says the H3N2 swine-origin strain of influenza was confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as genetically similar to a strain identified in three cases in Pennsylvania and one case in Indiana.

Sears said the boy was treated by his family doctor and is back up and playing. He said health experts don't expect the new strain to pose a widespread threat.

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