Friday, May 01, 2009

Poor pigs

UNL official: Pigs shouldn't be blamed for flu
Posted:04/29/2009 3:29 PM
Despite its name, the outbreak of swine flu should not be blamed on pigs,says the director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Center at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln.

Swine influenza comes from a family of viruses and got its name from the history and evolution of the virus, said Scott McVey, director of UNL’sVeterinary Diagnostic Center in the Institute of Agriculture and NaturalResources.Swine flu comes from a family of viruses with elements of human, swine andavian viruses.

“Pork is not to blame for the swine flu and properly inspected pork is safe to eat,” McVey said. “Pork really is getting a bum rap for all this.”

Cases of the swine flu in Nebraska hog operations have historically beensporadic and relatively low in number, and McVey said there is no evidenceof this changing.“None of the North American instances of swine flu have been linked todirect contact with pigs,” McVey said. “But, some of the ancestors of thiscurrent virus probably did come from swine.

i.m.e.l.d.a

1 comment:

Griffox said...

Poor pigs indeed. Egypt ordered the slaughter of 300,000 pigs. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1894703,00.html?cnn=yes