Minn. pigs may have tested positive for swine flu

Preliminary tests show three pigs in Minnesota may have contracted the swine flu virus making them the first potential U.S. cases in swine, agricultural officials said Friday. They stressed the finding does not threaten food safety.

The samples were taken from pigs shown at the Minnesota State Fair between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1 as part of a university research project. Officials expect results this week to confirm whether the pigs were infected with swine flu virus, also known as H1N1.

The pigs did not show signs of sickness and officials said they likely contracted the virus from some of the nearly 1.8 million people who visited the fair.

-- Associated Press

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Associated Press

RALEIGH -- North Carolina state fair officials are worried about swine flu -- not as much the visitors getting it, but the pigs and hogs at the event.

The fair has set up two barriers between fairgoers and the animal competition pens. Signs have been put up outside the petting barn, asking humans to wash their hands before and after touching the animals and requesting anyone who has been sick in the past week to stay away. And owners are encouraged to get their pigs flu shots.

"We're trying to prevent people from spreading it to the pigs," Karen Beck, one the state veterinarians overseeing the health checks on animals at the fair, told The News & Observer of Raleigh.

People who raise pigs are very sensitive about the swine flu, preferring to call it the H1N1 flu virus. A pig getting sick at the state fair in North Carolina, which is the No. 2 hog-producing state in the country, could be a public relations disaster.

"It has a lot of repercussions for the industry, which is already hurting," Beck said.

The fair also takes a number of steps to make sure infected livestock don't make it to the fairgrounds.

Animals at the petting zoo and other creatures that might be touched by the public must have a certificate proving they were examined by a veterinarian at least 30 days, and no longer than 12 months, prior to the fair.

Animals in competitions go through a screening station where state veterinarians check them out.

Pig farmers have been talking about all the precautions they can take for months, said Dennis Cook, of Circle C Farm in Newton. He is best known for his dozen racing pigs, which come complete with NASCAR-like numbers, and his petting zoo.

"We have to protect the people," said Cook, adding that his pigs' health also is very important.