First bird flu case in a pig found in Oregon
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A case of H5N1 bird flu was found for the first time in a pig in Oregon, Department of Agriculture officials said on Wednesday, raising new concerns about the potential transmission risk to people.
Why it matters: Pigs can be infected by both human and bird viruses, which could create conditions for H5N1 to morph into more transmissible variants.
Driving the news: The pig infection marked a disturbing turn in an outbreak that began earlier this year in dairy cows and has spread to dairy herds in at least 14 states and infected 39 people.
- Officials stress the risk to humans remains low, saying that genomic sequencing from the animal did not identify any changes to the H5N1 virus that would suggest it is more transmissible.
- They also stressed there is no concern about the nation's pork supply, since the case was discovered in a backyard farm that is not part of the commercial food supply.
Between the lines: Officials said the case was detected in an operation that has a mix of poultry, swine and other livestock, such as sheep and goats.
- They tested five pigs because H5N1 was detected in other animals on the farm. One pig tested positive, two pigs tested negative and results are pending for the two remaining pigs.
- The animals had shared water sources, housing and equipment, which has enabled transmission on other farms, they said.
- The farm has been quarantined. Officials stressed the importance of biosecurity measures by backyard farm operations, as well as commercial farmers.
