Evaluating H5N1 spillover risk from cattle to swine

This $649,999 federal Project Grant award was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program. The purpose is to evaluate the risk of H5N1 influenza virus spillover from cattle to swine.

The primary awardee, The Ohio State University, will lead animal studies to assess virus transmission and viral replication in cattle and swine, including intranasal and intramammary inoculation studies. The university will also culture porcine and bovine mammary epithelial cells and analyze gene expression changes after H5N1 infection. A subaward to Case Western Reserve University supports the virological assays and sialic acid staining on the animal tissue samples. This research aims to better understand the potential for the H5N1 strain to cross over from cattle to swine, which could have significant implications for agriculture and food production. The award period is from April 2025 to April 2028.