H5N1 bird flu identified in pig for first time in United States

H5N1 bird flu has been identified in a pig in the United States for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.

The USDA and Oregon veterinary officials are investigating bird flu cases in a backyard farming operation that had a mix of poultry and livestock, including pigs, the agency said.

“The livestock and poultry on this farm shared water sources, housing, and equipment; in other states, this combination has enabled transmission between species,” it said in a news release.

After H5N1 was identified in other animals on the farm, five swine were euthanized for testing; two tested negative, and results are still pending for two others. The farm has been quarantined, and other animals are under surveillance. However, it was not a commercial farm, and “there is no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply as a result of this finding,” USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said.

H5N1 is a type of influenza that’s rare in humans but is highly contagious and deadly in several species of animals, including poultry and dairy cattle, raising fears that it could mutate and become a virus that preys on people, too.

Across the United States, more than two dozen people have tested positive for H5N1 flu this year, and nearly all of them have reported exposure to infected dairy cows or chickens, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.