Pigs contract flu though human contact

The London News.Net
Sunday 3rd May, 2009

A herd of pigs in Canada has tested positive for swine flu, after coming into contact with a human carrier.

The pigs were apparently infected by an Alberta farm worker who had recently returned from Mexico with flu symptoms.

The herd, in the western province of Alberta, has been quarantined.

Until the Alberta case there had been no incident in the current phase of any pig having swine flu. The World Health Organization, WHO, says there is no risk of infection from the virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.

As of Sunday 18 countries have officially reported 898 cases of the A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases, including 19 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens, WHO said in a statement. The United States Government has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. In Canada, the total number of sufferers has risen from 35 to 85.

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