Swine Show Will Go On at Minnesota State Fair

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The swine show will go on at the Minnesota State Fair.

Deputy State Epidemiologist Richard Danila says officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control support the precautions Minnesota officials are taking to prevent the spread of a new strain of swine flu from pigs to fair visitors.

University of Minnesota infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm had called on officials to cancel the swine exhibits at the fair, which opens Thursday.

But Danila says CDC officials say more than 80 million people have visited state and county fairs across the country this year, leading to countless interactions between people and pigs. But the CDC has recorded only about 250 cases of the new flu strain in humans.

He says the precautions the fair is taking are proportional to the risk.

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