The H1N1 flu virus that's now infecting people in more than 190 countries around the globe -- and that's responsible for the reported deaths of nearly 5,000 people worldwide, including high numbers of children in the southern U.S. -- is believed to have begun in a pig.
But despite the threat to public health represented by factory-style hog farms, where the crowding of animals makes widespread transmission and the chance for mixing of viral strains into a virulent pandemic form affecting humans more likely, hog farmers still have not been made a priority group in the U.S. flu vaccine program.
The Washington Post examined the problem in a recent story:
Scientists have documented the transmission of viruses between pigs and farmers in the United States. For example, the Post points to a 2006 study out of Iowa that compared blood samples from farmers, veterinarians and meat-processing workers to university employees and students who had no contact with pigs, looking for antibodies to two common flu viruses. They found that 17 to 20% of farmers and 11 to 19% of veterinarians showed evidence of previous infection by the two viral strains, but none of the other groups.
And earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus in a pig at the Minnesota State Fair. It's believed that the pig, which reportedly did not suffer from any symptoms, may have been infected by a sick human.
Gray has been a leader in the effort to document the movement of flu virus between hogs and farmers, but it's a tough job. As the Washington Post observes, hog farmers don't necessarily welcome strangers to their farms for various reasons, including the concern that scientists could link pork to human illness -- though you can't get swine flu from eating pork.
The paper also notes that monitoring of pigs for flu has actually decreased in the six months since the H1N1 strain was first identified. For now, it says, Gray and others are placing their hope in a program in which the U.S. Agriculture Department -- not farmers -- pays for testing of pigs where flu is suspected.
Iowa is the nation's top producer of hogs, followed by North Carolina.
But despite the threat to public health represented by factory-style hog farms, where the crowding of animals makes widespread transmission and the chance for mixing of viral strains into a virulent pandemic form affecting humans more likely, hog farmers still have not been made a priority group in the U.S. flu vaccine program.
The Washington Post examined the problem in a recent story:
"The thing we're concerned about is if this [novel H1N1] virus gets into pigs and then comes back out of pigs into people," said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "The question is what may happen to the genetics during the time it's in pigs."The Pork Board is encouraging hog farmers to get the regular season flu vaccine as well as the vaccine for the H1N1 virus, and to stay home from work if they are suffering from an acute respiratory infection. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not listed hog farmers among the priority groups to get the vaccine, which remains hard to come by.
Concerned about just that possibility, Gregory Gray, of the University of Iowa, campaigned via editorials in three medical journals to have swine workers be made a "priority group" in any pandemic vaccine program. He was not successful.
Scientists have documented the transmission of viruses between pigs and farmers in the United States. For example, the Post points to a 2006 study out of Iowa that compared blood samples from farmers, veterinarians and meat-processing workers to university employees and students who had no contact with pigs, looking for antibodies to two common flu viruses. They found that 17 to 20% of farmers and 11 to 19% of veterinarians showed evidence of previous infection by the two viral strains, but none of the other groups.
And earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus in a pig at the Minnesota State Fair. It's believed that the pig, which reportedly did not suffer from any symptoms, may have been infected by a sick human.
Gray has been a leader in the effort to document the movement of flu virus between hogs and farmers, but it's a tough job. As the Washington Post observes, hog farmers don't necessarily welcome strangers to their farms for various reasons, including the concern that scientists could link pork to human illness -- though you can't get swine flu from eating pork.
The paper also notes that monitoring of pigs for flu has actually decreased in the six months since the H1N1 strain was first identified. For now, it says, Gray and others are placing their hope in a program in which the U.S. Agriculture Department -- not farmers -- pays for testing of pigs where flu is suspected.
Iowa is the nation's top producer of hogs, followed by North Carolina.
I think the most dangerous food is meat as it destroys humanity and leads to wars and destroys all ultimately.
Obesity & Magic Pill :
I personally recognize that wheat is a far better diet than meat on the ground it normally exits body with ease and rapidity, and we are well aware that our heath depends upon smooth metabolism and blood stream associated with the immune system and how important our daily workout is, as well.
I still think the critical conditions mostly come from breach of our immune system, and the food that stays long in the body is more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias, viruses and the like multiply.
Sounds outlandish, but wheat might be a principal "clean and healthy" food that has led western society to the most decent culture of all.
Disadvantages of meat consumption :
1. The food that stays long in the body looks more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias and the like multiply, which even gives birth to critical conditions involving prostate cancer.
2. The consumption of meat proved lethal as earlier this year, the expansive, long-term release concluded about a third of more than 500,000 Americans aged 50-70 with this behavior tends to wind up with premature fatality caused by cancer, hypertension and more.
3. The in-take of pork raises risks of catching swine flue and its mutation, costing around the initially estimated $2trillion dollars word-wide and endangering recovery,
(( Genes included in the new swine flu have been circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade, according to researchers who have sequenced the genomes of more than 50 samples of the virus. The findings suggest that in the future, pig populations will need to be monitored more closely for emerging influenza viruses, reported a team led by Rebecca Garten of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a report released by the journal Science.))
Still, media downplay this fact out of small thinking to protect meat industry.
4. All but media influenced by meat industry blame calorie for overweight or obesity rather than fat, I still think Fat equals Fat by definition and common sense.
5. Hot dogs are often associated with food-borne illness. Though other food items carry listeria , FDA (Food and Drug Administration) studies have shown a high level of the harmful bacteria on hot dogs, processed meat and ready-to-eat meat products. And consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer
The class-action consumer fraud lawsuit underway in New Jersey is based on a report from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Its findings included this fact: Consuming one 50-gram serving of processed meat (about the amount in one hot dog) every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent.
Nitrites, used to keep hot dogs fresh, are the main culprit, according to the suit.
While nitrites are commonly found in many green vegetables, especially spinach, celery and green lettuce, the consumption of vegetables appears to be effective in reducing the risk of cancer. Because these vegetables also contain Vitamin C and D, which serve to inhibit the formation of carcinogenic compounds, they actually reduce your cancer risk.
6. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, which branch into so many different kinds of diseases, excess body fat increases risk for numerous cancers, costing up to $147 billion a year.
7. America needs to put focus on a sustainable energy industry to become a lead exporter, in place of a fast food business where the overall loss outstrips gain more than known, from my stance.
Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, bacterias, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.
Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.
Also, Breathing toxic chemicals in the outdoor air exposes all Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable under federal law, shows new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Thank You !
October 30, 2009 4:37 AM | Reply