Canada unlikely to impose controls on US, Mexico hog imports

Canada is unlikely to impose any restrictions on the importing of live hogs from the US and Mexico despite an outbreak of swine flu in those two countries, an official with the Canadian Pork Council said Monday (April 27).

 

To date, the flu virus has not been found in swine, and health officials say the illness is believed to be passing from person to person.

 

"While Canada does import breeding hogs from the US and on occasion from Mexico, there is no need to put up any trade barriers restricting this movement," said Martin Rice, an CPC executive director.

 

He said part of the reason is that through the normal importation rules the hogs would be quarantined for a period of time before being allowed to proceed to their destination within Canada. "Most of that is to check for pseudo-rabies," Rice said.

 

However, Rice cautioned all hog producers in Canada to begin strengthening existing biosecurity practices to prevent the introduction of the new influenza virus into Canadian operations.

 

The influenza virus strain that emerged in Mexico has been identified in 40 people in the US and nearly 2,000 suspected cases have been reported in Mexico.

 

The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg has confirmed four human cases of the disease from Nova Scotia, and the British Colombia Centre for Disease Control identified two additional cases from British Columbia that are the same virus strain found in the US and Mexico.

 

The new influenza is being called swine flu because of the genetic makeup of the virus and is a human health situation that may affect Canadian swine, Rice said.

 

The new influenza virus is a mixture of type A H1N1 strains and it appears to be a recombination of swine, bird, and human strains. At this point there have been no clinical reports of disease in swine.

 

Rice said included in the increased biosecurity measures should be reduced visitor traffic to pig farms, with individuals who are returning from affected regions having no contact with pigs for at least seven days.

 

Barn entry requirements should also be enhanced with a minimum of a change of clothes and boots and a thorough hand wash. If masks are available, they should be used.