CHICAGO - An international group of scientists has decoded the DNA of the domestic pig, research that may prove useful in finding treatments for pigs and people, and perhaps aid in efforts for a new swine flu vaccine for pigs.
Pigs and humans are similar in size and makeup, and swine are often used in human research. Scientists say they rely on pigs to study everything from obesity and heart disease to skin disorders.
“The pig is the ideal animal to look at lifestyle and health issues in the United States,’’ said Larry Schook, a University of Illinois biomedical science professor who led the sequencing project.
Researchers were to announce the results of their work today at a meeting at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England, one of the organizations involved in the research. They planned to spend the meeting discussing ways to use the new information, Schook said.
One of those ways could be the development of a swine flu vaccine for pigs to protect them from the new H1N1 virus that is spreading among people.
The US Agriculture Department announced last week that six pigs from the Minnesota State Fair contracted the H1N1 virus over the summer, the first report of pigs catching the virus in the United States. The hogs likely got it from fairgoers, officials said.
The new swine flu is spreading easily among people. It is not spread by handling or eating pork products.
