WHO urges more flu surveillance
More than 200 infected in US
Flu surveillance should be increased in both humans and animals now that the H1N1 virus strain has infected pigs in Canada, a World Health Organisation official said yesterday. WHO food safety scientist Peter Ben Embarek called on veterinarians, farm staff, and slaughterhouse workers to take precautions when handling live animals to avoid spreading or catching the new strain.
"You might have a risk with the live animals or when slaughtering it, but on the other side, as soon as you are dealing with the final product there is no big risk," he said.
Canadian health officials have said that a swine herd in the western province of Alberta apparently caught the virus from a carpenter who had travelled to Mexico.
"Since that has happened once, it could also happen again," Ben Embarek said of the pig infection, which he said may require people in contact with animals to wear protective gear.
Earlier yesterday, the UN food agency in Rome said the Canadian case gave cause for concern and confirmed the need for increased surveillance of pig farms. Some countries have restricted imports of US pigs and pork, and Egypt has ordered the slaughter of its entire pig herd of 300,000 to 400,000 animals.
Ben Embarek said that although the virus had not appeared to mutate as it moved to pigs in Canada, it needed to be closely watched in case the strain became more dangerous as it spread in all populations.
Meanwhile, the new strain of H1N1 influenza has spread to 30 US states and infected 226 people, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday.
New York has the most cases with 63, many linked to a school in Queens. Texas has 40 cases. One person has died, a toddler who was visiting Texas from Mexico.