Pigs might also be getting new vaccinations against the swine flu by the time cold weather brings the yearly influenza season.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given several animal vaccine manufacturers the “master seed virus” from the swine flu strain that is circulating among humans. One of the companies said Wednesday that it is developing a vaccination for pigs that will contract the virus from infected people.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu viruses can pass from a human to a pig mostly from coughing and sneezing.
A pig vaccination for H1N1 would help livestock producers prevent their animals from catching the virus, as well as help derail the development of other flu strains.
Pigs are considered mixing vessels where the viruses mutate together into novel variations because of them being so susceptible to avian and human flu strains.
“Through that mutation they can become more virulent and could cause problems in humans,” said Dr. John Clifford, chief veterinarian for the USDA’s animal-health division. “Also, for pigs themselves, if the virus changes, current vaccinations may not work.”
The swine flu that has caused a pandemic alert around the world has not turned up in U.S. pig herds so far. However, it has been found in herds in Canada, Argentina and Australia.
Officials in Canada were the first to announce that the human H1N1 virus jumped from person to pigs on a farm in May.
Although there are enormous demands expected when the human swine flu vaccination is released this fall, it is still not determined how much demand there will be for a pig vaccination. Clifford said the USDA would not require hog farmers to vaccinate against the human strain. The USDA is responsible for approving any swine flu vaccination for pigs.
Officials are encouraging hog farmers to vaccinate their animals in response to any swine flu outbreaks in U.S. pig herds.
However, many farmers are pinching pennies right now because of the hog market being low.
Jerry Brink, a hog farmer in Elkader, Iowa, said he would not buy the vaccine unless there is an outbreak in the area surrounding his farm.
“The common thinking is, don’t vaccinate if you don’t have to,” Brink said.
Dan Warner of the National Pork Producers Council said that hog farmers also are accustomed to their animals getting the flu, and then getting over it fairly quickly with minimal damage.
“Pigs get the flu, it’s a regular thing and they get over it and they’re fine,” Warner said. The vaccine being developed, he said, “would just be an added expense they couldn’t afford.”
Vaccines for various swine flu strains have yet to hit the human population and are administered only to pigs that are already on the market.
Clifford would not identify which veterinary medicine manufacturers were working on the new vaccine, but Pfizer confirmed on Wednesday that it was working on one at its Lincoln, Nebraska plant.
Pfizer officials said the vaccine might go on the market by the normal start of flu season, but demand would be significantly dampened without a requirement for pigs to be vaccinated.
“We wouldn’t require it,” Clifford said Wednesday. “If we start seeing a lot of cases in swine, we’d certainly encourage swine producers to use it.”
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