Influenza – Page 5 – Swine in Minnesota

Evidence of influenza A infection and risk of transmission between pigs and farmworkers

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

In today’s Science Page, University of Minnesota researchers Gustavo Lopez-Moreno, Peter Davies, My Yang, Marie Culhane, Cesar A. Corzo, Chong Li, Aaron Rendahl and Montserrat Torremorell present research on interspecies transmission of influenza A between pigs and farmworkers.

Evidence of influenza A infection and risk of transmission between pigs and farmworkers

Today, we share a recent study by the Torremorell’s lab published in open access, in the Zoonoses and Public Health journal this past month. Led by Dr. Gustavo Lopez, this work focuses on the interface between the pigs and farmworkers when considering influenza A infection.

Newly funded: University of Minnesota researchers secure $500K USDA grant to study novel pig influenzas

This article was previously published on the UMN College of Veterinary Medicine Website.

March 28, 2022

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has secured $500,000 to study how new influenza virus strains emerge, persist, and spread in pig populations—and what age, well-being, farm-production type, and epidemiological factors might help predict whether a new virus strain emerges.

Tackling flu in piglets – What’s your gameplan?

In the January/February issue of National Hog Farmer, University of Minnesota faculty Montse Torremorell and Marie Culhane, along with graduate research assistants Gustavo Lopez and Chong Li explore farm plans to tackle influenza in pigs.

Pooling udder skin wipes to detect influenza in preweaning pigs

This is a recent publication from the Torremorell’s lab refining the use of udder wipes to detect influenza in preweaning pigs. It is available in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.

Key points

Pooling of three, five, and ten udder wipes was evaluated.
Sensitivity decreased if the Ct count was above 31.5.
Pooling more than three udder wipes can affect the ability to detect influenza virus.