Oops, Meat From Infected Pigs Isn't Safe After All, Says WHO

Eatup! (4.00 / 3)

Yes, I'd advise avoiding diseased meat.  Always a good idea, that...

:)

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu May 07, 2009 at 23:44:09 PM UTC

there is no evidence that swine flu originates from pigs (0.00 / 0)

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/...

Indeed, there are, presently, some good reasons to doubt any such connection: at the time of writing, two weeks into the outbreak, the Mexican authorities have not found a single pig infected with the flu virus in Mexico, far less at the Granjas Carroll farm. And none of the workers at the farm has thus far fallen ill.

More to the point, there is as yet no evidence that humans contracted this strain of flu from pigs - whether by eating pork or handling the beasts themselves. As Dick Thompson of the World Health Organisation says: "There is no association that we've found between pigs and the disease in humans."

people with no credentials to speculate on the origins continue to expel their opinions and offer them as facts. i'm no supporter of factory farms just seeking the truth.

pigs and birds have always been the origins of flu viruses that can jump host to humans.

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by: bud dingler @ Thu May 07, 2009 at 23:59:06 PM UTC

what about this? (4.00 / 3)

CDC Confirms Ties to Virus First Discovered in U.S. Pig Factories

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 00:38:22 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I am still getting my head around this (4.00 / 2)

The virus in North Carolina is similar, but not the same, so there's still a step here. Did it mutate in a human sometime between 1998 and now? Has it been in pigs all this time? Has it been in humans all this time?

Note that by "confirmed" what they mean is, they all agree on the sequence of the virus found in 1998. Not really much more than that.

There's still a lot of science to be done to try to figure out where this little virus has been and who it's been with. ;-)

As it was, he did a deal with a blancmange, and the blancmange ate his wife.

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by: elfling @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 01:27:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It appears to me (4.00 / 2)

from what I've read - which in no way makes me an expert - that the virus is a descendant from the 1998 outbreak in pigs but they really didn't monitor it between then and when it showed up in humans.

However, this diary makes no claims that pigs currently have the swine flu. Just that IF they did, we shouldn't eat them. Which should be obvious. Why would you want to eat a sick pig no matter what it was sick with?

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 04:48:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

You're right about that Jill (4.00 / 1)

It's my understanding from reading other's work, flu viruses are endemic in the swine population everywhere. Like many other animal diseases, you accept that and vaccinate for it because it's just a fact of life. I don't think anyone has done any indepth research on the evolution of these viruses, or not many have. Michael Gregor goes over this in his book Bird Flu - A virus of out own hatching, but I know how much research is being done as far as watching endemic swine flu viruses change.

I've been watching how the trade situation has been changing due to this new virus. Russia has closed its markets to US pork, claiming that they don't want the virus coming into their country. I'd think that if that is actually the fact they ought to shut all the tourism down, and not just from Mexico, but from any country that has detected the virus, that's how it's spreading, not via pork.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 11:12:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wikepedia to the rescue! (4.00 / 1)

Pretty good info on swine influenza in general at the Wikepedia Swine Flu page

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 11:18:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Still wrapping my head around this (0.00 / 0)

because flu will be killed by cooking, and camphlyobacter and salmonella are just as deadly...

I mean, I wouldn't eat a pig that died from flu, but an apparently healthy pig that might have some flu virus in it is probably not more hazardous than our regular meat supply, just as I read the situation.

As it was, he did a deal with a blancmange, and the blancmange ate his wife.

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by: elfling @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 17:56:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What does this mean (4.00 / 3)

for the pork industry and hog farms?  Good news for locavores?  Bad news for jobs?  Bad news for locavores?  I can't handle the suspense!

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

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by: rossl @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 00:46:04 AM UTC

It's not good for the pork industry (4.00 / 4)

and it depends on how it's gonna affect eaters. If they are correct in saying that no pigs have the flu, everything is cool. Everyone can eat pork, no company needs to lose any sales, and nobody gets sick. If not, all bets are off. In the meantime, just cook your meat before eating it and wash your hands like you should be doing anyway.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 00:56:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't really eat pork anyway (4.00 / 1)

What about its effects on organic agriculture?

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

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by: rossl @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:26:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wouldn't it depend on how it was raised? (4.00 / 1)

What effects are you talking about?

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by: nycstray @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 20:01:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I mean like (4.00 / 2)

how would it affect organic agriculture if there was some kind of recall or stigma attached to pork (or factory farmed pork)?

My brain might be fried from an AP test I took today and I might be asking a dumb question.

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

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by: rossl @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 20:27:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think people that buy from folks who raise (4.00 / 3)

pastured pork and those raising it are already informed that it shouldn't be an issue. I'm sure restaurants etc would also inform their customers that the pork on the menu is safe and why.

My rancher would have isolated a sick pig and treated it. It would not go back into 'the system" and be sold to anyone. I am not at all worried about the pork I eat or feed my pets.

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by: nycstray @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 20:48:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What you said... :) (4.00 / 2)

nycstray pounded that nail right on the head here.

Agreed 100%.

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 21:10:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Raw pork is already a hazard (4.00 / 4)

like all raw meat, and it's advised that you cook thoroughly and that you disinfect any surfaces touched by raw meat or juices. Pork already needs to be thoroughly cooked due to trichinosis.

Raw chicken is even worse, with something like 80% infected with salmonella or camphylobacter.

To be honest, I don't see anything here that would change how I run my kitchen or make me more worried about consuming pork... not that I buy any all that often.

As it was, he did a deal with a blancmange, and the blancmange ate his wife.

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by: elfling @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 01:23:18 AM UTC

Doesn't change anything for me either (4.00 / 2)

I know my pork (and other meat) sources, and I'm simply not concerned. I ride the NYC subway also :)

What I find funny is, I was on an Italian sausage sandwich kick when this whole thing started. It didn't even occur to me that I was eating (known source) pork. Tuesday night I was at a sausage making class. Not one person in the 3hrs mentioned the swine flu. Again, known pork source. Although, it was mentioned in my Herb class this AM that we should all wash hands etc because we were going to be tasting and we "didn't want to catch anything".  

I almost wonder if it's better to get the "milder" form now vs waiting to see what happens in the fall . . . . .

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by: nycstray @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 03:42:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Pork sales in Mexico (4.00 / 2)

have fallen up to 80% according to MeatingPlace. I think that the pork producers who'll be affected the least by this thing will be the ones selling direct to the consumer. As Nycstray says, known pork. When you buy pork from the store, sure it's inspected at slaughter, etc. but knowing the person who raised the animal gives people more confidence.

The problems with commodity pork sales in the US is the futures speculators. They're paying less, or at least they have been, for futures, so everyone says pork's down. I haven't seen a drop at the store, nor do I expect to when the pork the futures speculators are buying and selling right now hits the shelves, which could be weeks or months from now.

As to eating diseased animals, out here at my place, if something dies and we weren't the one to kill it, it goes in the fire, not the freezer. However, that having been said, that ain't the case in many parts of the world. ProMED posted info on multiple sudded pig deaths in the Phillipenes. Instead of finding out what killed the pigs, there is little to no access to veterinary services in the part of the Phillipenes where this is going on, the people just butcher the animals anyway and sell the meat, although at a discount.

Not surprisingly, a fair number of people have gotten sick after eating the meat from these particular pigs. ProMED has an RFI (request for info) out, but it sounds to me like the pigs got fed some tainted feed, they're apparently just dropping dead, not much in the way of symptoms, so it sounds more like poisoning than disease, but who knows?

In this part of the Phillipines, the pigs are commonly raised over fish ponds. The pig poo feeds the fish, the ponds are open to the great outdoors, and can have wild waterfowl land in them, and I think they use the pond water for the pigs to drink. This is one of the loops that can lead to pigs becoming infected with or exposed to an avian strain of flu. The flu mutates in the pig and can be transferred to people, although not necessarily by eating the meat.  

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 11:04:54 AM UTC