Flu hits pigs, and worse, this flu virus hits humans too. Mexico has this flu just this year and the flu has traveled to other isolated parts of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Hongkong. There are ongoing studies to determine how this flu transfers on to humans. Initial findings show that people who work in swine and poultry production areas are more prone to the disease.

The 2009 swine flu outbreak can drastically affect the hog industry in the next months. (Photo source: www.ces.ncsu.edu)

At present, there are no reported cases in the Southeast Asian region. However, mitigating measures are already being taken by respective governments of the region. Thermal scanners are installed in airports to screen passengers for flu symptoms. In Singapore, people were advised not to travel in affected areas of Mexico and US. The Philippines has also for now, stopped importing hogs from US and Mexico to avoid the entry of infection.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (DA-BAS) reported that Philippine hog production slightly decreased from 1.89 tons in 2007 to 1.86 tons in 2008 due to losses incurred by farms. Outbreaks of diseases prompted farmers to sell their pigs fearing that market prices would continue to go down while commercial feed prices increase.²

Next to rice, the hog industry is the second leading contributor to Philippine agriculture economy. As an agriculture-dependent country, this flu, it persists would potentially affect employment, income, and food supply.

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Endnotes:

¹ WHO raises its pandemic alert level on swine flu

² Swine production in the Philippines

Related Link:

Understanding Swine Flu Spread: Questions and Answers