Mexican state pig farm might be cause of swine flu

A pork farming area in Mexico's eastern coast state of Veracruz might be the source of the swine flu strain that has killed 149 people in the country, Mexican media reported Monday (Apr 27).

Local media and epidemic monitoring company Vertect identify Perote, a town in Veracruz and home to a large pig farm, as the first site of any unusual flu activity in Mexico.

The Veracruz state government rejected the accusations, saying residents in Perote often suffer from respiratory illnesses because the town is located in a mountainous area, where temperatures vary widely.

However, Veracruz state news agency reported in March that residents were complaining of flu-like symptoms as early as in February and March, blaming a local pig farm, Granjas Carroll, a subsidiary of the US pig farming giant Smithfield Foods.

Smithfield issued its own statement on Sunday (Apr 26), saying it had found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine flu in the company's swine herd or its employees at its joint ventures in Mexico.

The official said the outbreak was not believed to be atypical and stressed that the local government had put up a sanitary cordon to prevent the spread of any virus.

He also argued that recent statements from the World Health Organisation (WHO) had dismissed a direct link between the deadly flu virus and pigs.

Earlier on Monday (Apr 28), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said that the virus has characteristics of bird, human and swine virus.