Influenza is constantly changing, shared Amy Baker, DVM, PhD, in a recent webinar for swine producers. Influenza from a native waterfowl host has the potential to infect swine. Those same viruses can also interact with humans and poultry.
Baker emphasized awareness, precautions and surveillance. Several species, including pigs, birds, wild mammals and humans, have the potential to serve as mixing vessels and share the influenza A virus among mammalian species.
While the current HPAI H5N1 panzootic is a concern for swine health and human pandemic preparedness, robust surveillance and disease investigation are the foundation for improving intervention strategies for animal and public health.” – Amy Baker, DVM, PhD
Source: National Hog Farmer, May 3, 2024. Link. Prevention efforts should focus on actions to reduce biosecurity risks including the use of outbreak investigation tools to identify biosecurity hazards at the farm.