REVIEW article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1648878
This article is part of the Research TopicHigh-Impact Respiratory RNA Virus Diseases, Volume IIView all 6 articles
Emerging threats of HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in swine: Knowledge Gaps and the Imperative for a One Health Approach
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, United States
- 2Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, , College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, United States
- 3Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Moncada, Spain
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Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 represents a significant threat to wildlife, livestock, and public health. The recent detection of HPAI H5N1 2.3.4.4b genotypes B3.13 and D1.1 in dairy cows, poultry, wild birds, wild mammals, and humans, along with the recent detection of D1.2 genotype in outdoor pigs, reflects an accelerated shift in the ecological and transmission dynamics of the virus. Given the pigs’ role in influenza ecology, these shifts present a serious threat to the swine industry and public health, accentuating the urgency for a coordinated One Health response. However, the current understanding of swine influenza, particularly in preventing and preparing for potential HPAI H5N1 incursions, has not been fully discussed. Furthermore, the consequences of such incursions on the swine industry and consequently on public health have not been explored extensively. This review addresses the knowledge gaps related to HPAI H5N1 2.3.4.4b infections in pigs. Assessing the risks of HPAI H5N1 in pigs and the consequences for cross-species transmission is crucial. Preventing the introduction of HPAI into pigs and minimizing spillover risks through evidence-based strategies is vital to ensuring food security, maintaining a safe food supply, sustaining animal production systems, and preventing human infections, including potential pandemics.
Keywords: HPAI H5N1, Swine industry, One Health, Epidemiological risk, Pandemic prevention
Received: 17 Jun 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mena Vasquez, Torremorell, Marco Fuertes and Culhane. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juan Mena Vasquez, Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, United States
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