Setting for a novel flu virus: the fair barn

Livestock shows are a standard part of county fairs nationwide and plenty of fair-goers walk through the barns to see hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens and other farm animal firsthand. And now, the Centers for Disease Control says 18 people, all but two of them children, tested positive for new strains of influenza after attending agricultural fairs in Ohio and Michigan during August, reports Harvest Public Media.

“The likely source: hogs,” says Harvest Media. “Researchers confirmed all 18 people had some contact with pigs, either by actually handling the animals or passing through barns where they were held, at fairs before developing respiratory illness and flu-like symptoms.” Everyone recovered.

Researchers said this strain of flu was previously unknown in people, so its transmission from swine to humans was troubling. CDC researcher Rebekah Schicker told Harvest Media, “Our investigation into this outbreak has been reassuring in that we did not detect any person-to-person transmission of either of these viruses.” The CDC recommended fair boards consider a shorter show time for hogs, providing hand-washing stations in livestock barns and quarantining sick hogs.

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