Public health officials in Oregon announced on Wednesday the first known case of H5N1 bird flu in a pig, raising new concerns about the growing risk of the virus being able to infect humans more easily.

H5N1 bird flu was detected in a pig in Oregon, marking the first detection of the virus in swine in the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Wednesday.The detection was on a small farm rather than a commercial pig farm,

H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon, the first detection of the virus in swine in the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

In many ways, the initial reports of this case are – against the backdrop of a continuing viral outbreak that has devastated seabird colonies around the world, caused huge die-offs of sea lions and led to the emergence of an entirely new disease of US dairy cattle – pretty innocuous.

The UK government said on Tuesday it has confirmed a strain of the H5N5 bird flu virus in commercial poultry at a premises near Hornsea in Yorkshire. All poultry on the infected premises will be humanely culled and a three kilometer protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone has been put in place surrounding the premises,

The United States Department of Agriculture last week reported that a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon was infected with bird flu.