Indiana Ag News Headlines 3,000 Indiana Pigs Confirmed with H1N1 Cases Indiana Ag Connection - 11/09/2009 The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week that pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for swine flu, making it the first time the virus has been found in such hogs. The OIE has confirmed that there were 3000 susceptible cases of H1N1 in pigs in an Indiana swine herd. The USDA, Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) are conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation of the event. On Oct. 22, samples from sows experiencing influenza-like illness at the facility were submitted to the University of Minnesota Laboratory for evaluation by the farm's attending veterinarians. On Oct. 29, there was presumptive detection of 2009 H1N1 was reported to APHIS and laboratory samples submitted to USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). Last week, NVSL confirmed cases novel (pandemic) A/H1N1 2009 influenza virus. Information points to a recent exposure of the pigs with facility caretakers who were exhibiting influenza-like symptoms. The producer has implemented biosecurity measures including prohibiting sick people from having direct contact with the herd to prevent further potential human to animal transmission. Recovered healthy pigs are being sent to slaughter through normal marketing channels and state public health officials have been notified of the situation. It was reported that this was the first time the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus was found in a commercial swine herd. A USDA spokesman said it could not release the city, name of the facility or the size of the herd where the pandemic H1N1 virus was found "in order to ensure continued high levels of participation in swine surveillance efforts, and because this is not a food safety or public health risk." "It's expected that pigs will get this particular flu strain just like pigs every year get the flu," said Dave Warner of the National Pork Producers Council, who added he would not be surprised to see more cases of pandemic H1N1 in US hogs. Agriculture experts expected that swine flu would eventually show up in domestic swine and a vaccine for hogs is being developed but not yet available. News of the virus in pigs came after herd infections in several other countries, including Canada, Australia, Argentina, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Norway. Separately Wednesday, officials said that the virus has been confirmed in a cat treated at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. It's the first known case of the virus to be diagnosed in a cat. Veterinarians say the virus has also been confirmed in two ferrets. The 13-year-old cat was treated and is recovering. The veterinarian who treated the cat, Dr. Brett Sponseller, says two of the three people in the same house had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill. The case was confirmed at both Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sponseller says the flu is known to spread from humans to pets, but this is the first case of swine flu to spread to a cat. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.