Page 15 of articles about influenza

Canada Pork International had estimated on Thursday that pork exports had dropped 5% to 10% because of the flu.

Sales of pork products in Mexico have fallen 80 percent since last week because of the swine flu outbreak, the CPM group representing hog farmers told Efe on Wednesday.

The H1N1 virus that has triggered fears of a global human flu pandemic has not been found in U.S. swine and so far has not "been shown to affect swine," U.S. Department of Agriculture chief veterinarian Dr. John Clifford testified yesterday during a Senate hearing. Naming the virus "swine flu" -- a name, Clifford allowed, that was apt to stick -- has caused unnecessary alarm with U.S. trade partners and dismay in the animal agriculture industry.

The FAO-OIE Crisis Management Centre – Animal Health is mobilizing a team of experts to assist government efforts to protect the pig sector from the novel H1N1 virus by confirming there is no direct link to pigs, increasing animal disease surveillance and maintaining response readiness should the new virus become introduced into the pig population.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian parliament voted to slaughter the country’s entire pig livestock of around 250,000 animals in a precautionary measure.

Can humans catch swine flu? How common is swine flu infection in humans? Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?...

Because the current A/H1N1 related human health event has been described as swine influenza, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) wishes to further clarify the facts from the animal health perspective, particularly in relation to international trade of pigs and of products of pig origin. The OIE also points out that it will continue to respond to new, incoming information as the situation evolves.

U.S. commodity markets retreated Monday in part on fears related to the outbreak of swine flu, potential reduced pork consumption and the banning of pork imports from the United States by Russia, China and other countries, although there have been no reports of the virus in U.S. swine.

Any current information in influenza like animal disease in Mexico or the USA could support a link between human cases and possible animal cases including swine. The virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore, it is not justified to name this disease swine influenza. In the past, many human influenza epidemics with animal origin have been named using their geographic name, eg Spanish influenza or Asiatic influenza, thus it would be logical to call this disease “North-American influenza”.

German pig futures prices fell by around 3.5 percent on Monday because of fears that bad publicity about swine fever will cut pork consumption, traders said.

The Emergency Committee, established in compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005), held its second meeting on 27 April 2009. The WHO Director-General has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 3 to phase 4.

The Russian government has suspended imports of all meat from Mexico as well as Texas, California and Kansas shipped after April 21 on fears of the spread of swine flu. In addition, China has banned pork imports from Mexico and the U.S. states of Texas, Kansas and California.

As of 26 April 2009, the United States Government has reported 20 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 and the Government of Mexico has reported 18 laboratory confirmed cases of swine influenza A/H1N1.