Can horses get swine flu?

Probably not, said Tom Chambers, PhD, who heads the OIE Reference Laboratory for Equine Influenza at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington.

Influenza viruses have an amazing ability to mutate and change their characteristics, so scientists who study them never say “never.” But, while it’s perhaps not impossible for a horse to get swine influenza, Chambers said he thinks it’s unlikely.

“Swine flu in humans is not novel,” Chambers said. “Swine flu in horses would definitely be novel