Breaking: Bird flu found in pig in U.S. for the first time

BREAKING NEWS

Bird flu found in a pig in U.S. for the first time, raising concerns about potential risks to humans

By Helen Branswell

NIAID

H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a pig on a farm in Oregon, the first time the virus has been seen in a pig in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday.

Pigs are sometimes called a "mixing bowl" for flu viruses, because they can be infected with both bird flu viruses and human flu viruses. If they are coinfected at the same time with two or more viruses, the viruses can potentially create a hybrid that is better able to spread to people than bird flu viruses typically are. This phenomenon, called reassortment, is what gave rise to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

It's not currently known if the virus found on the Oregon farm is the same version of the virus currently spreading in cows in the U.S.

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