U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed the presence of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in a pig sample collected at the Minnesota State Fair. The samples collected at the Minnesota State Fair were part of a University of Iowa and University of Minnesota cooperative agreement research project funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which documents influenza viruses where humans and pigs interact, such as at fairs. The swine tested showed no signs of illness. Since the initial confirmation, five additional pigs have tested positive for 2009 H1N1.
Routine surveillance has also detected 2009 H1N1 in a commercial swine herd in Indiana. The swine and caretakers have all recovered from the virus. This finding is not a food safety issue nor a public health threat. This finding is however an important reminder of the need for biosecurity measures, especially with increasing numbers of human cases of 2009 H1N1.