It was no trick, and definitely not a treat, when it was announced days before Halloween that a pig in an Oregon backyard farming operation was infected with H5N1, the first detection in swine in the United States.

The farm in question had a mix of poultry and other livestock, including five pigs, and the animals share water sources, housing and equipment. Due to the presence of H5N1 in other animals present, the Oregon Department of Health and USDA tested the pigs, even though they showed no signs of illness.

Each pig was euthanized for further diagnostic analysis. H5N1 is the virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry and had previously made the leap to dairy herds in the country.

NPPC statement

Any livestock health scare raises the question of safety of the meat product, and the National Pork Producers Council was quick to calm such fears by issuing a statement: “The entire pork industry remains committed to safeguarding food safety and human and animal health,” CEO Bryan Humpherys said.

The National Pork Board reiterates the safety of the nation’s pork supply, saying in a statement, “There is no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply as a result of this development. When thoroughly cooked and handled properly, pork remains safe to eat.”

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NPB’s statement follows up by saying that “the risks to human health from this strain of influenza remain low.”

To ensure that remains the case, NPB works in concert with the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), American Association of Swine Veterinarians, NPPC and USDA, among others, to monitor H5N1 movement across the nation.

Dairy came first

H5N1 first made the leap from poultry flocks to dairy cows earlier this year when the virus was detected in herds in multiple states. There have also been reports of human cases among U.S. dairy and poultry workers, with 44 confirmed cases as of early November, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. hog industry has long-established biosecurity programs. For about 15 years, it has worked with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in carrying out the swine influenza surveillance program to identify the various influenza viruses circulating in swine and how to identify the most common strains of swine influenza such as H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2.

While treatment of any virus is key, more important is knowing how to prevent the disease from reaching a herd in the first place. And that is why a stringent on-farm biosecurity program is so important.

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“Pork producers have always been proactive and diligent about implementing biosecurity plans as part of their daily production practices to assure animals’ well-being and food safety,” said NPPC President Lori Stevermer says in a statement. Stevermer and her husband, Dale, raise hogs in southern Minnesota.

Research proposals accepted

The gravity of the situation has also birthed a partnership between SHIC, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff to fund a $4 million research program to enhance prevention, preparedness, mitigations and response for H5N1 in the U.S. swine herd.

A request for research proposals is now open, and individual awards are capped at $250,000.

Topics of research include vaccines, clinical presentation, mammary transmission, surveillance, introduction risks, caretakers, biosecurity, pork safety, production impact and pig movements.

The deadline to submit proposals is 5 p.m. Central time Dec. 31. For questions, contact Megan Niederwerder at 785-452-8270 or Lisa Becton at 515-724-9491.