Monroe County Has Pigs At Fair Despite Two Cases Of Swine Flu - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

Swine flu is a serious issue in Ohio, where nearly 80 human cases have been confirmed.

And two of those cases were in Monroe County.

Yet as the Monroe County Fair gets under way, pigs are still a big part of the livestock exhibits.

Nobody will enter the Greased Pig Race this year, however.

Fair organizers are being extra cautious.

"We're not having some swine related events," says Hannah Hartshorn, Junior Fair Board president. "We had a greased pig contest we had to cancel. We've really just kind of been on the lookout. And we have the vet. She's checking animals as they come in and out of the fairgrounds."

But the Monroe County Fair Board did not shy away from the issue.

While some county fairs eliminated swine this year, Monroe County stood firm that this traditional part of farming, fair-going and 4-H would not go away.

In fact, they never even discussed the possibility.

"No, not that I know of," said Mark Landefeld, Monroe County Extension Educator. "They pretty much thought all along that this strain of virus is something that can be taken care of just by proper sanitation."

So the pigs and their owners are at the fair, with the owners doing a lot of extra hand-washing.

"Probably four to five, maybe six times a day," said Hartshorn. "Just when I go to the bathroom or when I start to feel my hands are dirty I'll definitely wash them. And then we also have the hand sanitizer pumps out so I definitely use those when I walk by."

The numbers of entries are as healthy as ever.

"We probably have about 100 hogs here this year which means probably 50 - 60 4-H'ers," says Bruce Zimmer, extension educator.

All this is happening despite the fact that two people from Monroe County had H-3-N-2 this summer.

According to the Monroe County Health Department, the two swine flu sufferers were a 21-month-old and a four-year-old.

They say they got it at the Ohio State Fair and they have now fully recovered.

Fair officials urge fair-goers not to carry their food and drinks into the livestock areas, not to touch the livestock, and to wash their hands after being in the barns.