Swine flu

Swine influenza (Swine flu) refers to a strain of influenza known as Swine Influenza Virus (SIV), that usually infects pigs.

Overview
The 2009 swine flu outbreak in humans, known is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 containing genes most closely related to swine influenza. The origin of this new strain is unknown, however, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs. This strain can be transmitted from human to human, and causes the normal symptoms of influenza.

Swine flu & Smithfield Foods
In 1994, the year the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Smithfield Foods established the Perote operations with the Mexican agrobusiness AMSA (Agroindustrias Unidas de México S.A. de C.V.) In 1999, the company bought the U.S. company Carroll's Foods for $500 million and expanded its operations into Perote, Veracruz, Mexico. The first reports of Swine flu came from Perote, Veracruz, home to Carroll Farms and operated by Smithfield. In early March, local health officials announced a health alert and investigation. According to Perote officials, 60% of the population suffered from flu, pneumonia and bronchitis. Federal health officials dismissed the complaints until April 5, when sanitary restrictions were placed on Carroll Farms. According to the company website the Perote facility raised 950,000 hogs in 2008. See also Smithfield Foods, section 6.

SourceWatch articles

 * Meat & Dairy industry
 * Smithfield Foods
 * War on Animals

External articles

 * Brian McKenna Profitting From Pandemics: Pig Sacrifice and Swine Flu Panic", Counterpunch, August 2009
 * Leslie Hatfield USA: Doth Smithfield Protest Too Much? Swine Flu Brings Focus to Factory Farm Practices, Huffington Post, May 2009
 * F. William Engdahl Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms, Cetre for Research on Globalization, April 2009