(MEATPOULTRY.com, May 04, 2009)
by Bryan Salvage
DES MOINES, IOWA — The National Pork Producers Council has called for accurate reporting on the recent influenza outbreak, adding the U.S. pork industry is nearing the brink of financial disaster. All employed in the pork industry must address influenza outbreak misinformation, which already has exacerbated an economic crisis in the pork industry, N.P.P.C. said.
Incorrect reporting of the H1N1 flu as "swine" flu has compounded the economic squeeze the U.S. pork industry has experienced during the past 19 months, when producers lost an average of $20 per hog, N.P.P.C. continued. Producers have lost another $6 per pig, with average hog prices falling from $124 a head on April 24 to $118 on April 28, since the flu outbreak became a major news story. This decline has cost the industry approximately $2.5 million a day, N.P.P.C. relayed.
To date, much of the media still refers to the current influenza as "swine" flu although this flu virus is not of pig origin. Additionally, the World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security have said this is not "swine" flu; they call it Influenza A or H1N1 flu.
"Speculative theories about the H1N1 virus spreading from pigs to humans are irresponsible and only contribute to unnecessary worry among U.S. citizens," said Dr. Jen Greiner, N.P.P.C. director of Science and Technology. She added this virus is very different from those found in pigs, and influenza viruses are not transmitted by food.
N.P.P.C. requested the H1N1 influenza not be called "swine" flu in a letter recently sent to the major broadcast media outlets and wire services. So far, the Gannett Company has agreed not to use the term.
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