First detection of H5N1 avian influenza in pigs in the USA – News
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Oregon state veterinarians are investigating positive cases of H5N1 on a backyard farm in Oregon that raises poultry and livestock, including pigs. On October 25, the Oregon Department of Agriculture discovered the first cases of H5N1 in birds in Crook County at this farm. On October 29, the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory also confirmed that one in five pigs on the farm was infected with the H5N1 virus, which is a first detection of H5N1 virus in pigs in the United States.
Livestock and poultry on this farm shared water sources, housing, and equipment; In other states, this combination has allowed transmission of the virus between species. Although the pigs showed no signs of illness, the Oregon Department of Health and the USDA tested five pigs for H5N1 out of an abundance of caution and due to the presence of H5N1 in other animals at the facility. Pigs were euthanized to facilitate additional diagnostic testing. Test results were negative for two pigs, and results for two more pigs are still pending. According to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, It is unclear whether the pigs had a systemic infection or whether exposure on the farm led to positive nasal swab results..
This is a non-profit farm, so the animals were not intended for commercial feed. Therefore, this finding does not pose a risk to the security of the nation’s pork supply.
The farm has been quarantined to prevent further spread of the virus. Other animals, including the farm’s sheep and goats, remain under surveillance.
The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory conducted genomic sequencing of the virus from infected poultry on this farm, which did not reveal any changes in the H5N1 virus that would suggest to USDA and the CDC that it is more contagious to humans, indicating that the current population risk remains low.
October 30, 2024/ USDA/ US.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov