swine flu

2009-05-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

Misnomer For Swine Flu

by Pisid Tungtaweesid

Uk.reuters.com explains Farmers fear pigs may get swine flu from people

Farmers fear pigs may get swine flu from people

Fri May 1, 2009 6:09am BST

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By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Humans have it. Pigs don't. At least not yet, and U.S. pork producers are doing everything they can to make sure that the new H1N1 virus, known around the world as the "swine flu," stays out of their herds.

"That is the biggest concern, that your herd could somehow contract this illness from an infected person," said Kansas hog farmer Ron Suther, who is banning visitors from his sow barns and requiring maintenance workers, delivery men and other strangers to report on recent travels and any illness before they step foot on his property.

"If a person is sick, we don't want you coming anywhere on the farm," Suther said.

Those sentiments were echoed by producers around the nation this week as fears of a possible global flu pandemic grew, with more than 200 people sickened, including more than 100 in the United States, and at least 177 dead, all but one in Mexico.

"There is no evidence of this new strain being in our pig populations in the United States. And our concern very much is we don't want a sick human to come into our barns and transmit this new virus to our pigs," said National Pork Producers chief veterinarian Jennifer Greiner.

"If humans give it to pigs, we don't have things like Tamiflu for pigs. We don't have antivirals. We have no treatment other than to give them aspirin," said Greiner.

The World Health Organisation on Thursday officially declared it would stop calling the new strain of flu "swine flu," because no pigs in any country have been determined to have the illness and the origination of the strain has not been determined.

The never-before-seen H1N1 flu virus has elements of swine, avian and human varieties.

Still, U.S. hog farmers said flu fears have hit them hard in the wallet as hog prices plummeted this week in response. Many countries reacted to the outbreak earlier this week by banning pork or meat from U.S. states that have human cases of the flu. And Egypt ordered the slaughter of all pigs in the country as a precaution.

U.S. hog producers have already been struggling financially for more than a year due to poor prices and high feed costs. If the new flu strain does hit their herds, it could spur further price declines, and could potentially spread broadly through herds.

To try to protect against such a scenario, industry groups and veterinarians this week warned farmers to step up their biosafety protocols, keeping pigs in barns behind security fences with access by any outsiders extremely limited.

Purdue University veterinarian Sandy Amass said farmers should keep an eye on pigs for "coughing, runny nose, fever and a reduction in feed intake," and to have the animals tested immediately if they exhibit such flu symptoms.

"Pigs get flu just like people get flu," Amass said. "We're want to do everything possible so the pigs don't get infected."

For Carroll, Iowa, producer Craig Rowles that means if any of his workers feel sick, they are ordered to take time off work -- paid -- to keep them away from the pigs.

"It's a real issue," Rowles said. "If the pigs get it, there isn't much we can do. Water, aspirin, and bed rest, that's all we've got."

(Reporting by Carey Gillam; additional reporting by Bob Burgdorfer in Chicago, Editing by Sandra Maler)

cnn.com explains Inaccurate 'swine' flu label hurts industry, pork producers say

Inaccurate 'swine' flu label hurts industry, pork producers say

By Chris Welch
CNN

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- The disease most people in the United States and worldwide know as "swine flu" is actually a combination of human and animal strains and has not been shown to be transmissible through eating pork.

Dean Folkers processes a pig for a customer at a grocery store in Elma, Iowa.

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And the nation's hog farmers and producers say the misnomer is hurting them.

China and Russia banned imports from some U.S. states and Mexico, and stock prices for the nation's leading pork companies, Smithfield Foods Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., took a hit. In addition, hog futures took a rare dive after initial news of the outbreak broke.

In an already suffering market the negative news is something the industry says could have been prevented.

"This flu is being called something that it isn't, and it's hurting our entire industry," said Dave Warner, communications director for the National Pork Producers Council. "It is not a 'swine' flu, and people need to stop calling it that ... they're ruining people's lives."

Many government health agencies this week began referring to the strain by its official name: 2009 H1N1. But pork producers say the damage is already done.

"The real issue is that anything is bad now because producers for the past 19 months have already lost money," Warner said. "On average they've lost about $20 a pig. So even if they lose $2 more, it's hard on them.

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"I've had producers say, 'Look, we're dying out here, already we're hurting and now this on top of it.' " Watch a pig farmer talk of hard times »

Brian Buhr is a professor at the University of Minnesota whose emphasis is in livestock markets. He says that pork is a $1.8 billion industry annually in Minnesota.

On Tuesday of this week, Buhr said, the state's pork industry took an $18 million hit.

Minnesota is the nation's third-largest pig farming state, and its health experts said Wednesday they would be calling the illness "H1N1 novel flu" going forward.

" 'Swine flu' gives a connotation that really it shouldn't have, and makes people wonder about eating pork," said Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Sanne Magnan.

The European Union has followed suit.

"In order not to have a negative effect on our industry, especially under this crisis situation, we decided to call it 'novel flu' from now on," said Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner for health.

The World Health Organization announced Thursday it would stop using the term "swine flu" to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs. WHO will instead refer to the illness as H1N1 influenza A. Map: Where the flu is today »

WHO said this week that the disease "has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CNN that it would begin officially calling this particular influenza strain H1N1. However, the CDC's Web site is still largely "swine"-centered, and the media continue to discuss "swine flu" -- much to the dismay of the hog industry.

"There's a large concern over the name [from the hog farmers' perspective]," said David Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Producers' Association. "They just wanted it to be accurate."

H1N1 is a more appropriate label for this flu, because a direct link from pig to human has not been established, according to Professor Marie Gramer's who studies swine disease at the University of Minnesota.

"Swine flu" was "an unfortunate name for everybody involved in swine production, implying that the pigs were the source of this current outbreak," Gramer said.

The CDC describes swine flu as a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. Outbreaks in pigs occur year-round. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions.

Peter Davies, professor of epidemiology and swine medicine at the University of Minnesota, said the name "swine flu" is potentially misleading.

"We've seen a huge drop in the price of pork," Davies said. "We've seen a lot of interruptions to commerce."

Though the name has officially changed from "swine flu," it may be too little, too late for the industry, said Davies.

"I think it'll take quite a while, if at all, before it trickles into the media or in the general public's conversation."

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BBC News explains US navy halts aid vessel over flu

US navy halts aid vessel over flu

Matthew Price looks at the impact of the shutdown on businesses in Mexico

Mexico has begun a five-day shutdown of parts of its economy in a bid to slow the spread of swine flu.

Non-essential government services have halted and many businesses like cinemas and restaurants are closed. Traditional May Day rallies have been cancelled.

Mexican officials say the spread of the virus - suspected in more than 160 deaths - is slowing, but international experts are more cautious.

China has now confirmed its first case, taking the tally of nations hit to 14.

A Mexican man who had travelled to Hong Kong via Shanghai tested positive for the virus, said Hong Kong's leader, Donald Tsang.

The hotel in which the man briefly stayed in Hong Kong has been cordoned off and the alert level raised to emergency, although the authorities have urged residents not to panic.

In cases outside Mexico the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe, although one death of a Mexican child has been confirmed in the US.

The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.

Economy fears

The shut-down in Mexico covers two public holidays and a weekend.

CONFIRMED CASES

Mexico: 168 suspected deaths - 12 confirmed

US: one death, at least 109 confirmed cases

New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases

Canada: 35 confirmed cases

UK: 10 confirmed cases

Spain: 13 confirmed cases

Germany: 4 confirmed cases

Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each

The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong: 1 confirmed case each

Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission

Canada

Spain

Germany

Mapping the outbreak

Mexico: First swine flu cases

Border town not slowing down

UK swine flu couple 'feared dying'

It extends nationwide a policy already in place in the capital, Mexico City, where most restaurants, cinemas and bars have been closed since last weekend.

City authorities say initial evidence suggests infection rates there are slowing.

Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home.

But some people say they will ignore it because they cannot afford not to work.

There is also growing concern at the effect the virus could have on Mexico's already-struggling economy.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at more than 300, officials say.

Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said on Friday that three more deaths from swine flu had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 15.

The virus is suspected of causing more than 160 other deaths.

Announcing the figures, Mr Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off.

"The fact that we have a stabilisation in the daily numbers, even a drop, makes us optimistic," he said.

But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organization, said fluctuations were to be expected. "If it didn't do that [it] would be very unusual," he said.

In other developments:

• The US has announced that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico

• An aide to US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu who helped arrange President Obama's recent trip to Mexico is being tested for swine flu, AP reports, although the aide is said not to have been in contact with the president

• The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is fine for people without flu symptoms to fly and use the subway, a day after Vice-President Joe Biden said he would advise his own family members against using public transport

• Denmark reports its first confirmed case of swine flu

• German authorities confirm that a nurse who treated a patient with swine flu also contracted the disease, in the first person-to-person transmission in the country

• Test results confirm the UK's first person-to-person transmission of swine flu, in a friend of a couple from Scotland who were first in the country to be diagnosed with the virus

• Mexico says it will lodge a formal challenge at the World Trade Organisation demanding explanations from countries that have banned imports of Mexican pork products

'No panic'

On Thursday European health ministers held an emergency meeting on measures to tackle the virus, which has now been confirmed in seven European countries.

SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO

Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue

If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice

If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection

Q&A: What is swine flu?

Mexican economy squeezed by flu

In pictures: Flu concern grows

The quest for a swine flu vaccine

EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said Europe was well prepared to handle swine flu and there was "no need to panic".

The ministers agreed to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine, but rejected a French plan to suspend flights to Mexico.

Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.

The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human.

My reaction: The strangely-named disease of Swine Flu is supposed to have taken on near-pandemic characteristics. It seems that in its initial stage, the spread of the disease is the cause of confusion worldwide over what separates fact from assumption. Due to the number of fatalities (177), this issue cannot be taken lightly.

What’s in a name? In the case, a lot indeed, as Swine Flu has not yet been determines to be an illness of any pig in any country. Rather, it has affected humans; sadly, 177 humans have died but the fact remains that Swine Flu has not killed a single pig yet. The unique H1N1 Flu virus is a mixture of Swine, Avian and human varieties. W.H.O. declared that indeed the name ‘Swine Flu’ is misleading, and suggested to simply call it the H1N1 virus from now on? A direct link from pig to human has not yet been established, so the name can be considered a ‘misnomer’ older Swine Flu virus that were common in the 1976 US outbreak, did not correspond to current strain of Swine Flu.
The damage of this in accurately-coined name has already been done: many countries have misinterpreted the name as meaning that pork products are contaminated, which is obviously not the case. U.S. states that have human cases of the H1N1 virus, have received cancellations of orders for pork products running into millions of dollars. This amount to economic disaster for farmers who are already in debt as a result of poor economic conditions; a further drop in the price of pork as a result of a ban on imports into several countries will create disastrous circumstances for U.S. hog farmers. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that biosafety protocols are necessary and valid, though the effects of misjudging a disease by focusing on one type of animals that have not yet been confirmed as actually being infected, is a poor strategy indeed. What has happened is that he U.S. and Mexican pork industry has suffered immensely from the misnomer Swine Flu; attempts by W.H.O. to change the name to H1N1 come too late for farmers who have already lost millions through cancellations of pork products orders.
Biosafety protocols for pig farmers are a precaution, not a corrective measure as indeed no pigs are known to have been affected by this current strain. Hog farmers in the U.S. and Mexico are taken no chances; as human- to-pig infection remains a possibility, strangers are banned from pig farm all over the U.S and pigs are kept in barns, on the advice of veterinarians. Farmers were also advised to keep an eye on pigs exhibiting Flu-like symptoms, but again these are precautionary measures as no pig has been confirmed as infected with H1N1 yet. It is important to keep in mind that previous Swine Flu outbreaks involved a different strain of Swine Flu, and not the current H1N1 virus which is now spreading among humans.
Among all of this uncertainty, Mexico has taken concrete measures to fight the spread of the disease. These measures may seem to be extreme, but with Mexico being at the origin of the outbreak and suffering all but one of casualties, there seems to be no alternative. The closure of cinemas, restaurants and other places where people meet and could spread the virus, is considered an effective way to prevent the spread of the disease. One hopes that such strict measures will not be necessary in the U.S, where such measures would hurt the economy just as much as they hurt the Mexican economy. The Meticulous cleaning of door knobs, car door handles, refrigerator handles as well as the frequent washing of hands with soap or alcohol will go a long way to keep the spread of virus at bay. Finally, the screening of passengers fling in from Mexico is an absolute must for all countries including Thailand. In this regard, it must be mentioned that the first known infected person in Asia is Mexican man, now in quarantine, in Hong Kong.

My conclusion: The use of effective measure can stop the spread of H1N1 which was misnamed as ‘Swine Flu’ adequate measures are being taken against this spread, though it has already caused untold economic damage to the Mexico and U.S. pork products industry. Current medical precautions offer a solution to contain the disease, though the economic damage will take longer to solve. Though a level of alertness is necessary, there is no place for overreaction as modern medical technology can deal with this outbreak.

SWINE FLU

swine flu

Farmers fear pigs may get swine flu from people

Inaccurate 'swine' flu label hurts industry, pork producers say

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