1st US case of bird flu in a pig raises concerns over potential human threat
A pig at an Oregon farm was found to have bird flu
NEW YORK (AP) — A pig at an Oregon farm was found to have bird flu, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. It's the first time the virus has been detected in U.S. swine and raises concerns about bird flu's potential to become a human threat.
The infection happened at a backyard farm in Crook County, in the center of the state, where different animals share water and are housed together. Last week, poultry at the farm were found to have the virus, and testing this week found that one of the farm's five pigs had become infected.
The farm was put under quarantine and all five pigs were euthanized so additional testing could be done. It's not a commercial farm, and U.S. agriculture officials said there is no concern about the safety of the nation's pork supply.
But finding bird flu in a pig raises worries that the virus may be hitting a stepping stone to becoming a bigger threat to people, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University pandemic researcher.
