enlarge The Associated Press

A participant in the pig scramble at the Orleans County Fair in Barton, Vt., heads for a payday with his pig. Most fairs, including those in Maine, are having their swine events and displays despite the swine flu outbreak.

enlarge The Associated Press

Children grab for piglets at the Orleans County Fair in Barton, Vt., this week. Health experts say people are more likely to infect pigs with swine flu than the other way around.

Don't expect to see children chasing piglets at Vermont's Caledonia County Fair this year.

Swine are unwelcome at the state's oldest fair, removed from the usual event schedule because of misconceptions about how easily the so-called swine flu virus spreads.

Although the H1N1 virus primarily infects humans, fair officials said they acted to protect themselves from bad publicity or frivolous lawsuits if someone gets sick and blames it on a pig.

"The perception that swine flu was transmitted between pigs and humans is why we did this," said Dick Lawrence, president of the Caledonia County Fair, which runs through Sunday.

Lawrence's concern puts the Caledonia County Fair at odds with most fairs across the country, including here in Maine, where officials are going ahead with pig events and taking precautions to protect animals and humans from the disease.

Jim Tucker, president of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, said he knows of no other fair in North America that has banned pigs. Most fairs will go on as usual, he said, with most stressing personal hygiene.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu viruses can be transmitted between pigs and people when they are in close proximity, such as livestock barns and fair exhibits.

The H1N1 virus, which has turned up in pigs in Canada, Argentina and Australia, hasn't been found in pigs in the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

In one instance in Canada, the virus might have been transmitted from infected pigs to two hog inspectors, but officials couldn't be certain, according to the Canadian Press.

Fairs and petting zoos routinely encourage hand-washing to protect people from animal-borne illnesses. Now, some fairs are urging hand-washing to protect the animals – specifically pigs – from the current pandemic.

Maine agricultural officials have distributed posters to fairs with swine exhibits that ask visitors to stay out of event areas if they are showing signs of having the flu.

"Right now, we're more worried about people giving it to pigs, rather than vice versa," said Don Hoenig, Maine's state veterinarian.

Pig scrambles and other swine events are still on the roster for fairs in Fryeburg, Oxford and Clinton, where event organizers may consider having children wash their hands before chasing the piglets.

"People shouldn't come to the fair at all if they're feeling sick, but some people do strange things," said Jon Whitten Sr., secretary of the Clinton Lions Fair, scheduled for Sept. 10-13.

Whitten said many hand-washing stations will be available across the Clinton fairgrounds, and signs will urge people to wash their hands after touching animals and before eating.

The Fryeburg Fair, the largest agricultural fair in Maine, has more than 50 hand-washing stations, but there's no plan to have kids wash their hands before trying to grab lightning-fast, 25-pound piglets.

"We have no intention of canceling our pig scrambles or other swine events," said Roy Andrews, president of the Fryeburg Fair, which will run Oct. 4-11. "If kids are healthy enough to chase a pig, they're probably not sick."

Suzanne Grover, president of the Oxford County Fair (Sept. 13-19), said her organization will go ahead with pig scrambles as long as state health and agriculture officials allow it.

"We try very, very hard to comply with state regulations to protect our fair-goers and animals," said Grover, whose event also has hand-washing stations.

Fair organizers are taking similar steps around the country.

At the Oregon State Fair in Salem, visitors face signs that ask, "Our pigs aren't sick, are you? If you're not feeling well, don't visit the pigs." Similar signs are posted at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln.

North Carolina, the nation's second-largest hog-producing state, behind Iowa, is going a...