The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in a pig on a farm in Crook County, central Oregon. This is the first case of a pig infected with the current strain of the virus in the United States. Although the sequence of the virus causing this outbreak has not been made public, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has informed the media that it is not related to the strain detected among dairy cattle.

The animal was euthanized, and an autopsy of the tissue revealed the virus was present throughout the body, according to state veterinarian Ryan Scholz. A total of five pigs and 70 chickens, ducks and geese on the farm were culled as a precaution to prevent further spread of the highly contagious virus. The property is currently under quarantine while surveillance continues. Authorities believe the cause of the outbreak is exposure to infected waterfowl.

Poultry and pigs were housed together. Speaking at the press conference on Wednesday, experts expressed concern especially about the emergence of the virus in pigs; because these animals are susceptible to viruses from both birds and humans. This means viruses can mix with each other and cause mutations, producing a hybrid virus through a process called rearrangement of their genetic structure. Dr., an epidemiologist from Oregon. “We are concerned about changes to this virus,” Dean Sidelinger admitted, but then quickly downplayed the danger, saying, “The risk to the public remains low.”

But scientists I’m talking with ISTAT NewsThose waiting for more details about the investigation were not exactly safe. Flu virologist Dr. of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “If it doesn’t spread from pigs to pigs and it only happened on that farm, it’s not a big deal,” said Florian Krammer. But he warned: “If it starts spreading from pigs to pigs then it will be a much bigger problem. “I think it would be a disaster if large populations of pigs emerged in the United States, similar to cows.”

The current outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza virus among dairy cattle was first detected in March of this year and has spread to 14 states in 404 dairy herds. Colorado was the epicenter of the outbreak this summer. But this has shifted to California, where 202 cattle herds have been affected, 158 in the last 30 days alone.