Swine flu, or “North-American Flu” as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has identified it, is causing havoc around the world. Click here to read the OIE Statement regarding the virus. Countries are tightening their border controls for travelers and imports as the number of confirmed cases of swine flu continues to rise. Market prices for hogs, pork-bellies, corn and soybeans also fell as the bad news spread. To read more about the impact on the futures markets, click here for the Brownfield Network story.
So far the virus has sickened nearly 2,000 people in Mexico and 40 in the U.S. Cases have been reported in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas, California and possibly New Jersey. For more coverage of the story, read the New York Times story here.
To help the public better understand the virus, the USDA has released some facts and precautions in Frequently Asked Questions: Swine and Human Cases of Swine Influenza A(H1N1). To read the news release, click here.
