The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed its first detection of H5N1 avian influenza in pigs.
The virus that has devastated poultry flocks over the past several years and been found in dairy herds across the U.S. was identified in five pigs on a backyard farm in central Oregon that has a mix of poultry and livestock, including swine, goats, and sheep.
It appears the virus was transmitted from poultry to the pigs, rather than from mammal to mammal, as the swine shared drinking equipment, housing, and other equipment with birds on the farm.
The swine did not show any signs of illness, according to the USDA.
Genomic sequencing of the virus from the farm did not indicate any changes within the virus that would suggest it is more transmissible to humans, according to the USDA and Centres for Disease Control.
North of the border, the number of cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 on poultry farms in Western Canada is climbing as wild birds migrate south. After an eight-month period with no new cases Canada-wide, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed outbreaks on at least eight commercial poultry farms in B.C. and one in Saskatchewan in the last ten days.
Related:
Avian influenza back in B.C. poultry flocks
Continued testing shows no sign of HPAI in Canadian dairy cattle or milk, says CFIA
