03.11.16: THREE PEOPLE died in Cambridgeshire and 20 have been infected by a new form of flu that has crossed over from pigs.
A Cambridgeshire hospital has been sealed off after a patient who was given a pig heart transplant developed the infection.
The heart, implanted into Arthur Benson at Papworth hospital last week, came from a pig bred to contain human genes so as to minimise rejection risks.
A spokesman for the organ suppliers Xenon said: "This technique has given many people a new lease of life. We've done more than 100 xenotransplants and never had a problem."
Critics have warned that patients could be vulnerable to undetected viruses in an animal organ, as their immune systems have to be knocked out so as to prevent rejection. JB