H1N1 virus affects industry in Canada
By Food in Canada staff
Business Operations Food Safety H1N1 virus pork producersThe Manitoba Pork Council called on the province to provide bridge emergency assistance to help pork producers cope with the affects of the H1N1 virus.
Hitting pork industry hard
The Pig Site.com reports that many producers have spent their entire life savings just to stay in business and continue feeding their animals.
The H1N1 virus comes after a long stretch of hard knocks for the industry. The industry has faced low pork prices, a high Canadian dollar for a time, the rise of feed costs and Country of Origin Labeling.
Alberta herd
As for the Alberta pig farm where the H1N1 virus was first detected, just under 500 hogs have been culled but not because the animals were sick. The cull was mainly to ease overcrowding. The entire herd remains under quarantine.
Spread of virus
Other reports now say that testing on that Alberta farm has not turned up solid proof that the humans brought the virus to the pigs.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says that there is only circumstantial evidence of person-to-pig transmission. But it still believes that’s how transmission took place.
Reports say that some testing of people on the farm was done too late or the best testing techniques weren’t used.
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