Lets get real about the swine flu
Not only are pigs so darn cute and smart, but they are transmitters of the now infamous swine flu virus. That is just one more thing – like their skin and flesh – best left to the pigs. But you see folks, it’s a packaged deal. If you want to eat their meat, then you get the bad stuff too … just like high cholesterol.
CNN says “Seemingly out of nowhere, the swine flu virus has spread from person to person in Mexico and the United States, triggering global concerns as governments scramble to find ways to prevent further outbreak.”¹ Yet in the same article they say how swine influenza has been known to spread from pigs to humans in the past.
Why are people always so amazed when diseases that affect the foods we eat “suddenly” become a problem for humans? What is so shocking? I think it’s because people believe they are living under some fluffy pink umbrella where the government protects them from harmful foods. Well why don’t we all just stick our heads in the sand a little longer and act like we’re so shocked that this swine flu has come “out of nowhere”.
Are we really in danger of a swine flu epidemic?
Now it’s not time for everybody to get their panties in a bunch … there have only been 12 reported cases of swine flu detected in the United States from 2005 to 2009.² If you are a fairly healthy person, you can probably fight it like the common flu. If you are elderly, immune suppressed, or a child, you may be in greater danger.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is worried that such an “outbreak” of a virus jumping from one species to another could cause havoc for humans. If humans don’t have have the immunity to fight this virus, then it could be devastating.
What is the swine flu virus?
Well obviously pigs (swine) are the primary carriers of the virus. It has been detected in pigs in China, Vietnam and now Mexico. Pigs can also carry the human flu virus which means these things all mesh together in their portly bellies and make for a strain of flu that can easily pass to humans. There are also links between the avian flu virus and this swine flu virus.
Pigs are kept in tight, contaminated areas and people handle them daily – all in an effort to maximize profits not in the best interest of human or pig heath. Clearly the pig handlers are most at risk. Once one person is contaminated, it is transmitted just like the regular flu by sneezing, ingesting germs from something carrying the virus, etc.
The CDC says swine flu symptoms are similar to the regular run-of-the-mill flu symptoms including “fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A few patients have reported that they also suffered from diarrhea and vomiting.”³ It can be treated with anti-viral drugs.
Where’s the logic in all of this?
Here’s what cracks me up the most, CNN tells us … be really scared of this “pandemic outbreak” of swine flu … but, hey … go ahead … keep on eating pork! Have they lost their minds? Now even if a person can’t get swine flu from a cooked piece of pork … couldn’t they make the correlation that the mass production of pigs kept in close quarters contributes to the spread of the disease? If people didn’t eat those pigs, then we wouldn’t produce them and this disease wouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps that’s too politically incorrect for them to mention if say Hormel wants to sponsor their Web site.
My prediction is that if this swine flu becomes a larger problem the powers that be will euthanize all pigs that test positive for swine flu virus. Then they will go about their normal business as if they have eradicated the problem and everyone will go back to living under their fluffy pink umbrella. That is until the next “shocking outbreak” of a food animal virus appears.
Sources:
1. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview
2. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview
3. – Wikipedia, accessed 4/27/09, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu
i think that in asian countries the Swine Flu did not spread rapidly compared to those countries that are located in colder climates. we should still be very thankful that the swine flu did not cause massive infections.
Nice post, I have bookmarked it. Thanks