US pig tests positive for H5N1 bird flu

A press release by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that a pig has been diagnosed with the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) virus. The pig resided on a farm in Crook County, Oregon, where several chickens had been infected. The USDA has taken the precautionary measure of culling all five pigs on the farm in question and conducted further investigations. Of the five pigs, one tested positive for the virus, two tested negative, and the results for the remaining two are still pending. Since 2021, the H5N1 virus has quickly spread among domestic and wild bird colonies. The virus has also disseminated among numerous species of wild animals, including many mammals, resulting in a global pandemic affecting non-human animals, medically termed ‘panzootia’ by virologists. At present, local veterinary authorities are awaiting the sequencing of the viral genome, to detect any mutations that could enhance the pathogenicity of the virus for humans.