Husbandry and management practices for US fair animals differ a great deal from those used for commercial livestock.
Our data, however, indicate that STEC O157 H7 fecal prevalence in fair animals is similar to that of their commercial counterparts.
We hypothesized that this emphasis on animal and environmental hygiene would result in a lower STEC O157 prevalence in fair animals compared with commercially reared livestock.
However, considering the broad observed diversity of STEC O157 H7 clones isolated from fair animals and the limited number of samples that we tested by PFGE, the absence of matching PFGE patterns might be expected.
Fair officials also reported if there was a commingling event, such as a pre-fair animal identification or weighing session, during the weeks or months prior to the fair.
Whatever the reason for the increased incidence of cases of influenza A(H3N2v) virus infection during 2012, mitigation strategies must be undertaken to decrease the risk for influenza A virus transmission across the swine human interface at fairs, animal markets, abattoirs, and commercial swine production units.
Fair organizers, animal health officials, and public health agencies should take additional steps to decrease the threat to human and animal health.
Using a standard questionnaire, we queried the parents of Club X members about illness occurring since Fair A; animal exposures at Fair A, home, work, and/or school; influenza vaccination history; and underlying medical conditions.
It seemed to me to be a quintessentially American story, involving Iowa, the state fair, farm animals, butter and a can-do attitude.
