Swine Industry Workers at Risk of Avian Flu

Farmers, veterinarians, and meat processors who routinely come into contact with pigs in their work have a markedly increased risk of infection with flu viruses that infect pigs, according to a study funded in part by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, Bethesda, MD, USA).

"Pigs play a role in transmitting influenza virus to humans,” says NIAID director, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "The worry is that if a pig were to become simultaneously infected with both a human and an avian influenza virus, genes from these viruses could reassemble into a new virus that could be transmitted to and cause disease in people.

The researchers examined serum samples taken from four adult populations in Iowa between 2002 and 2004. Three populations were occupational groups exposed to pigs and the fourth was a control group with no occupational pig exposure. The results showed that all three occupational groups had markedly elevated antibodies to swine flu viruses compared with the control group. Farmers had the strongest indication of exposure to swine flu viruses, as much as 35 times higher than the control group.

"If migratory birds introduce the H5N1 bird flu virus into swine or poultry populations in this country, agricultural workers may be at a much greater risk of developing a variant H5N1 and passing it along to non-agricultural workers,” said the study's co-investigator, Gregory C. Gray, M.D., director of the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. The study appears in the December 2005 online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.




Related Links:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases