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NEWS > HEALTH > USDA CONFIRMS H1N1 HAS MOVED BACK INTO PIGS
USDA CONFIRMS H1N1 HAS MOVED BACK INTO PIGS
October 20 2009
Washington, D.C. – With thousands of cases around the world, H1N1 has quickly rocketed to the top of most people’s health concerns. It was only a few months ago that the disease first began to appear in the human population, spreading from a 
small pig farm in Mexico to virtually all corners of the globe in just a matter of weeks. Initially the infection and death rates were low but as the disease began spreading into a pandemic officials began to be concerned about the future of the disease, especially as regular flu season approached.
Those concerns now appear to have been warranted with thousands more flu cases appearing across the United States and more and more fatalities stacking up. Though flu shots are just starting to hit the general population in most of the world, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has brought some relief in the form of pigs, who initiated the disease. One pig from a farm in Minnesota has been diagnosed with the disease, the first such infection in the U.S., raising hopes that the disease may finally be moving back where it belongs.
“We have fully engaged our trading partners to remind them ... that there is no 
scientific basis to restrict trade in pork and pork products. People cannot get this flu from eating pork or pork products. Pork is safe to eat,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack . “This move back into swine is a more or less expected situation. Like the disease passed from swine into humans it was inevitable that we would pass a new version of the virus back into the swine population. This is due in large part to the level of interaction we have with swine as well as our great genetic similarities. The pig is resting comfortably and we expect a full recovery.”
USDA officials are expecting more swine across the country to eventually contract the newest version of the disease though such an infection will not negate the spread of the disease in human beings.
“By passing the disease onto swine we are not eradicating it from the human population. Much like when you have a cold and give it someone else you don’t automatically get better. Unfortunately, viruses simply don’t work like that. Even if it were to happen it likely wouldn’t in this case due to the variances in the immune systems in swine and humans,” said Dr. Michelle Quek of the CDC. “We haven’t taken on the swine version of the flu and vice versa. A version of the disease has mutated and jumped species which means that any kind of ‘passing off’ onto another species is pretty much impossible from that perspective as well. Unfortunately, we are going to be in this for the long run and we will need to be diligent about taking action to ensure that the disease is kept under control. We won’t be able to pass it on just like that.”
Still, many people are holding out hope that at the very least swine will get what they deserve, suffering in the same way as humans affected by the virus.
“Unfortunately pandemics don’t occur in the same way with lower animals that they do with human beings. We have global trade and air travel which causes the disease to spread. We are also self aware which makes fear of the disease much more omnipresent and potentially dangerous to the human population than it is to the swine population,” said Scrape TV Health analyst Rebecca Phelps. “The best thing to do is to just take care of yourself. Get the shot, follow precautions. If you do that you will likely remain healthy and then you can just forget about things like vengeance on the swine population.”
USDA doctors are currently testing swine across Minnesota.
Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent
NEWS > HEALTH > USDA CONFIRMS H1N1 HAS MOVED BACK INTO PIGS
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