U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today, September 10, 2009, that the department is trying “to speed the development of a H1N1 flu vaccine for hogs[.]” The secretary is trying to achieve this by providing “master seed viruses” to five veterinary vaccine makers.Vilsack stated, ‘“Our hope is that (manufacturers) will take this seed virus and they will refine it and work with it and finalize it to the point where they actually get a vaccine which they then can produce [.]”’ H1N1, which the media has labeled “swine flu,” is combination of the human flu virus, the avian flu virus, and the swine viruses. The flu has killed people across the globe, but to date it has not been discovered in U.S. hogs. However, as Christopher Doering and Roberta Rampton’s report for Reuters, the virus has been found in several Canadian herds.
The virus is airborne and can pass between people and pigs, but this is not common. Vilsack has said the USDA will step up surveillance efforts. If the virus is discovered in U.S. herds, the USDA says it will work with state governments, farmers, and veterinarians to prevent its spread. Vilsack did stress in the article that the flu cannot be caught from eating pork.
To read the Reuters story click here.
Posted: 09/10/09
