|
|
|
AdvertisementH1N1 flu outbreak virus not found in U.S. hog herdWhile H1N1 is the most common influenza found in the hog herd, it is not the same as the H1N1 flu virus found in people. Iowa State University veterinary pathologist Greg Stevenson told pork producers, during a news conference at the World Pork Expo, that the human outbreak is being referred to as the H1N1 flu outbreak virus in order to distinguish it from the flu in the hog herd. "The difficult part about this virus is it won't respond to antibiotics and it can't replicate outside of cells," he said. In order for the H1N1 virus to survive it must attach to host cells in an animal to be able to replicate, and read the genes in order to know how they replicate. Stevenson said the common types of flu are found in waterfowl where they cause asymptomatic disease and subclinical infections. "Very few of these flu viruses are established in mammalian species," he added. While H1N1 is the most common type of flu found in pigs, H1N2 and H3N2 are present as well. Stevenson reassured the group that while swine influenza is common in the hog herd, it is also on the decrease. He further explained how there can be different strains of the same flu. "A person who has flu from another person could also get another twype of flu from hogs. Then, those two flus could replicate at the same time and develop into another strain," he said. "While the particles released are generally the same as the original virus, every once in a while they will combine. One might out-compete another and then replicate. "Human H1N1 actually has two different genes than swine H1N1," Stevenson added. "And it isn't always mentioned that H1N1 wasn't present in the hog herd where the flu was first present in humans. Therefore blaming hogs is completely wrong." After the human H1N1 outbreak, Stevenson's lab randomly selected 125 H1N1 hog samples from across Iowa to test for the human strain in the hog herd. No H1N1 flu outbreak virus was found and, actually, there is only one single report of the H1N1 flu outbreak virus in Canada. The Iowa State lab has developed a quick test for H1N1 which will only show positive results for the H1N1 flu outbreak virus and will be negative for other types of flu in swine. Since all positive H1N1 flu tests in hogs must be reported to the state veterinarian, the ISU diagnostic lab can then perform the quick test to determine if the human strain is present. Stevenson said the biggest threat to the hog herd right now is humans and human diseases, which can be transmitted. "There are many questions out there as to if the virus is going to come back in humans this fall, and if current vaccines will be able to fight the virus," he said. While Stevenson doesn't know all the answers to the questions, he hopes that pork producers will be aware of everyone around their operation and have proper health protocol to protect both the pigs and the people. Jennifer Bremer can be reached at 515-833-2120 or by e-mail at jbremer@hpj.com. Advertisement
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
57438