The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that a pig has been confirmed to be carrying the H5N1 bird flu virus for the first time in the United States.
The agency says it has been working with veterinary officials in Oregon to assess a backyard farming operation in the state that housed a mix of poultry and livestock. On October 29, officials confirmed that one of the five pigs on the farm had tested positive for H5N1.
All five swine on the property were ultimately tested. At least two tests have returned negative, with the remaining two still outstanding.
According to the USDA press release, the livestock and poultry shared housing, equipment, and water sources. This combination, says the agency, has led to the transmission of H5N1 between species in other states.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported on an incident in which a man in Texas contracted the virus while working with dairy cattle. In early May, at least 33 herds across nine states were confirmed infected.
In another incident in April, 1.6 million egg-laying hens from one facility in Texas had to be euthanized after an avian flu outbreak.
The latest discovery of the virus in a pig in Crook County, Oregon, occurred at a non-commercial farming operation. The USDA says the animals from the facility are not intended for commercial consumption, and there “is no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply.”
“In addition, the farm has been quarantined to prevent further spread of the virus. Other animals, including sheep and goats on the farm, remain under surveillance,” the press release said.
Since pigs are considered a “mixing bowl” species for the flu because they have the same kind of receptors in their lungs as humans and birds, scientists have been particularly concerned about potential infections in swine.
For example, the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic is thought to have been started by a virus that mutated in pigs before being transmitted to humans.
So far this year, more than two dozen people have tested positive for H5N1. In almost all cases, exposure was linked to infected chicken or dairy cows.