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No reports of H3N2 flu at Iowa fairs
The state veterinarian for Iowa—Dr. Dave Schmitt—says there have been no reports of problems associated with the H3N2 flu virus in pigs at any of Iowa’s county fairs this summer.
That new influenza strain reportedly sickened at least 12 people in Ohio, Indiana and Hawaii in mid-to-late July, with all of those cases involving recent contact with pigs at county fairs. Two pigs testing positive for H3N2 were sent home from the recent Ohio State Fair.
Schmitt says all of livestock coming to this week’s Iowa State Fair will be thoroughly examined to ensure any sick animals are kept out. He says it’s a stepped-up inspection program that began after the H1N1 pandemic scare in 2009.
“That effort and our planning has continued on since 2009, in the same format—which we have prepared for again this year as we have in the past,” Schmitt says.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement last week warning people to wash up and avoid eating around animals as they attend county and state fairs. Schmitt says the Iowa State Fair is very proactive in preventing the spread of disease.
“They have hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations throughout all of the animal species barns out there,” he says. “In addition, they have signage in English and Spanish on all of the livestock barns, stressing the importance of hand washing.”
The CDC says the H3N2 virus isn’t considered highly pathogenic. Of the 29 people who’ve had it since it was first identified in 2011, only three were hospitalized and each had underlying illnesses that made them more susceptible to the flu.
AUDIO: Dave Schmitt (3:58 MP3)
2012-08-07 09:49:55
Source: http://brownfieldagnews.com/2012/08/07/no-reports-of-h3n2-flu-at-iowa-fairs/
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