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Pork industry invests $4 million in H5N1 research

The pork industry is investing in H5N1 research despite nominal cases in pigs.

Dr. Lisa Becton with the Swine Health Information Center says SHIC is collaborating with the National Pork Board and Foundation for Food and Agriculture.

“It’s a $4 million effort really addressing ten different priorities that encompass things like transmission, looking at vaccine development and cross protection. Looking at multi species, biosecurity, mammary transmission.”

She tells Brownfield results from the studies should be available in the next year.

“And then as we look to 2026, we’ll be doing a second round of call for research addressing some of the other priorities that weren’t addressed the first time. They may encompass things like what is the risk for multi species, especially when we look at maybe caretakers that are shared between operations, or even equipment.”

Becton says virus survivability in manure will also be looked at.

The first and only detection of H5N1 in swine in the U.S. occurred on a mixed livestock farm in Oregon in 2024.