Flu outbreak reduces boar semen quality.

Flu outbreak reduces boar semen quality.An accidental outbreak of influenza A virus has been demonstrated to reduce semen quality in boars, US researchers found.The researchers, attached to Purdue University in Indiana, United States, found this out when an influenza outbreak occurred at the university’s swine barn, resulting in the infection of 28 boars with influenza A virus (H3N2) and causing the death of 2 boars. The article describes how the 28 boars, about 35 weeks of age, were enrolled in a study for semen quality parameters at the time of the outbreak. This allowed the researchers to describe the effects of the unintended influenza outbreak on sperm production, they wrote in the publication. They described how the first observation of mild clinical signs of illness (intermediate coughing and lethargy) in 3 boars occurred in April 2016, 3 weeks into the evaluation of semen quality.