H1N1
What Does Swine Flu Have To Do With Pigs?
When the Bird Flu epidemic was on, we were advised to how to handle, cook and eat chicken as well as eggs.
People who worked in poultry farms were at particular risk from the bird flu virus.
Periodically we were witness to news stories of mass culling of poultry.
However similar advisories for handling pork or people working with pigs are not forthcoming.
Although India has only some minorities and areas where people actually eat pork, even abroad, where pork is a staple part of many diets, there are no such cautionary tales about pork or pig and hog culling. So what does Swine Flu actually have to do with pigs? Why is it called ‘swine’ flu?
The fact is that Swine flu is not a food borne virus, you cannot get it from handling or eating pork, i.e. pig meat. Also the world wide nature of the swine flu pandemic being what it is, the disease has not actually manifested itself among pigs and swine herds. This is a virus that spreads from human to human. The term ‘Swine flu’ is now being called an inaccurate characterisation of the H1N1 virus.
In the United States people working in the pork farming, processing and production industries are being negatively impacted by this disease being called ‘Swine’ flu; because of the erroneous connection to pork and pigs. Since this is spelling economic devastation for pork producers, processors and distributors, there is not the attempt by several sections of American society to dissociate the term ‘Swine’ from the H1N1 virus.
According to a spokesperson for a meat processors organisation, since April 24, the date Novel H1N1 was made public, the losses incurred by pork producers, processors and retailers has totaled in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The term has been disruptive to farmers and has caused grave losses, due to the misinformation that is rife about this problem. The meat producers are at pains to inform and educate the public that this virus has nothing to do with pigs and that it should be referred to by its proper name; H1N1.
So why is it called Swine flu? The virus got its name because the strain has some “genetic markings derived from swine, though it also parts human and avian.” The name, unfortunately for pork producers, stuck, and now they are trying to undo the damage the name is doing to their industry.
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