Current bird flu variant could spread to people via pigs, Ministers warn

The possibility exists that the currently circulating variant of the highly contagious bird flu virus could infect pig farms and then spread to people, Ministers Piet Ademan (Agriculture) and Conny Helder (Public Health) said in a preparation document sent to parliament on Monday. Pigs that roam outdoors and come into contact with wild water birds, in particular, form a possible bridge to humans, they said, AD reports.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread throughout the world in recent years. It emerged in the Netherlands in 2021, and since then, the government has had infected farmed birds culled in over 100 locations.

Pigs can serve as a “mixing vessel” of viruses, from which a new pathogen that is dangerous to humans can emerge, the document states. These animals can simultaneously be infected with influenza viruses common to pigs and other types of influenza that occur in birds and humans. “These viruses can mix into a new variant with potential zoonotic risks,” the Ministers said.

The document is one of the outgoing Cabinet’s “pandemic preparedness” steps, the Ministers said. The government is already taking precautionary steps to prevent this from becoming a massive problem. People who come into contact with infected birds can already get vaccinated against seasonal flu. The government is also stockpiling the anti-viral drug Oseltamivir. And monitoring pig farms, of course.

If a pig farm is infected, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) will take action. Depending on how many pigs are infected and whether the virus is spreading among the animals, the NVWA will decide if it is necessary to cull the entire farm.

“It is absolutely wise that the government makes these preparations,” virologist Ab Osterhaus, a bird flu specialist, told AD. The chance of a mutation in pigs and a transfer to humans is not big, but not insignificant either. “It’s not entirely unlikely,” he said.

Chairman Linda Verriet of the Pig Farmers’ Producers’ Organization stressed that there is no reason to panic. “Bird flu is a disease you must report. Having a script to work from is part of that. That is being made now. The virus has never occurred in farmed pigs, and the risk is very small,” she told AD.