According to authorities, a pig has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus for the first time in the US. The pig’s infection was confirmed Tuesday, four days after poultry on the same small farm in Oregon tested positive for the highly contagious virus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
The infected animal and the four other pigs kept there were euthanized to allow for further testing and analysis. Two of these pigs have tested negative for H5N1 so far, with results for the other two still pending, the report said. The infected pig showed no symptoms.
Case in non-commercial exploitation
“This farm is a non-commercial operation and the animals were not intended for commercial food supply,” the Department of Agriculture continued. There are “no concerns about the security of the national pork supply.”
To prevent further spread of the virus, the farm was placed in quarantine. Other animals on the farm, including sheep and goats, are observed.
Health experts have expressed concern about the growing number of mammals infected with bird flu. They fear that increased spread could cause the virus to mutate in a way that could be transmitted to humans.
Virus not yet transmissible to humans
However, genetic samples from infected poultry at the Oregon farm “did not reveal any changes in the H5N1 virus that would indicate … that it is more transmissible to humans,” the Department of Agriculture said. The results of the genetic samples from the infected pig are still pending.
Source: Krone
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