Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer reports a novel H1N1 strain of Influenza A appears no more severe than typical strains of flu but action to avoid spreading the infection remains important.
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 Flu Virus in Canada now stands at 165.
Dr. Joel Kettner says it’s too early to draw conclusions but, with each passing day, it’s looking more as if this novel strain is not as severe as some had feared.
He says advanced technology is allowing us to tell when they’re different or the same, or when they’re new or old and now we need to come to terms with the significance of that information.
From a human health point of view we’re very interested in the surveillance of viruses in animals including pigs but I think it’s important to understand what it is we’re interested in.
From a human health point of view we’re not interested in whether pigs are getting influenza or not with regard to the safety of consuming pork products.
We are interested in patterns of illness that might have long term population impact so if a pig has symptoms of influenza and recovers from them that, if all else is well at the time they go to slaughter, that is not a reason to not slaughter them and enter them into the food chain.
I can tell you from a public health point of view that that is a very reasonable policy.
From a public health point of view the presence prior to slaughter of an influenza virus is not a public health concern with regard to the quality and safety of the pork products for human consumption.
Dr. Kettner says there had been an assumption that a novel virus would immediately result in severe illness that would cause more trouble than this one has so far.
He suggests some people will be headed back to the drawing board to assess the significance of finding a novel virus, whether it’s in humans, whether it’s in pigs or both.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
