AH1N1 hits China pigs

The dreaded AH1N1 has infected several pigs in a slaughterhouse in Heilongjiang province, the first reported case in China, reveals the country's agriculture ministry.

The ministry, as quoted by China News Service, also reported four positive samples were discovered at the abattoir in Shuangcheng by a local flu laboratory. 

Health experts however assured consumers that the rest of the pork is still safe to eat amid AH1N1 infections.

Officials suspect the cause of infection could have been the animals' close contact with humans during transportation.

Gene sequence analysis showed the virus suffered by the pigs is a 99-percent match with the human AH1N1 strain. No mutation was found, the government said.

China consumed more than 46 million tonnes of pork in 2008, around half of the world's total.

Since its first outbreak in April, AH1N1 has spread and caused numerous deaths in thirteen countries. The virus was originally known as "swine flu" before it was renamed to dispel any links with pigs.

Though the ministry was unable to comment regarding the infection, ministry officials in a statement last week said authorities across China had checked about 87 million pigs, but no influenza virus had been detected.