MLBA 9: June / July 2009

 

 

 

Influenza AH1N1 continues to stir the global communi­ty, and with no signs of abating soon. As of May 27, nearly 8,500 people in 39 countries have been infected with swine flu, according to the WHO.

 

However, not only are humans affected, but also the livestock industry of different areas across the globe. Coun­tries in Asia for instance have banned pork from Mexico, the US, Canada and some other selected American states. In different countries, pork sales are dipping while exports are blocked – which leaves meat processors and farmers suffering losses.

 

In the Philippines, a noticeable drop in pork prices was seen as the consumers try to avoid eating pork in the fear of getting infected, a misconception which transpired when the flu broke out and was called the "swine flu."

 

Former chief of the Philippine Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Animal Feed Control Division, Dr. Jaime Abella Sison, said that the Philippine swine industry has been hit by the In­fluenza AH1N1 scare as prices of pork have dropped by PHP10 per kilogramme due to low demand. This despite assurances from the international health experts that the lethal flu strain cannot be transmitted from eating pork as it is transmitted from human to human.

 

Further, imports of live hogs and pork items were temporarily suspended by the government last April as a precautionary measure. The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) had preferred to "err on the side of conservatism or safety by a few days," according to Director Catbagan of BAI.

 

Sison also explained that while there is potential for the sporadic number of cases to turn into a worldwide pandemic or global outbreak, there is little reason for hog producers and consumers to panic just yet.