PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Norman Grant says there is no obvious threat at this time to the island's agricultural industry from the Influenza A H1N1 virus.

The virus has caused an outbreak of swine flu in 13 countries around the world, killing a suspected 101 people in Mexico and one person in the United States (US). Mexico and the US are the only countries that have recorded deaths so far.

No drop in pork consumption

Grant says unlike other countries, there is no evidence that Jamaicans have reduced their consumption of pork as a result of the outbreak.

"The advisory that is out from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health is that our industry is not under threat, even though we always have to be alert," Grant says.

There have been reports of massive pig slaughters in some countries, as well as an imposition of pork-importation bans by some others in response to the outbreak.

Egypt has begun slaughter of over 300,000 pigs in what was originally described as a precaution against swine flu, the BBC reported yesterday. This is while experts have advised that the virus cannot be transmitted by consuming properly cooked pork.

Human-to-human transmission

The Ministry of Health says cooking temperatures of up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Celsius will kill the virus. It adds that while the virus contains pig, avian (birds) and human genetic material, there is no evidence that the virus was transmitted from pigs. The transmission of the virus has only so far been from human to human.

"From where the JAS sits, we continue to support the production of local pork and its consumption as a very good alternative protein," Grant says.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has also issued an advisory to people who have travelled to the affected countries in the last two weeks, to visit the nearest health centre or hospital. It says while people might not necessarily feel ill, it does not mean that they were not exposed to the virus.

"You don't have to be ill, you can call and then we will guide these persons. The rationale for this is that with early detection and treatment, if we do have a case here we can put in place our prevention and control measures," director of emergency, disaster management and special services in the ministry, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse says.

gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com

Belize gained the distinction of being the first Caribbean Community country to find suspected cases of the deadly swine flu as the World Health Organisation warned that a global pandemic was "imminent".

FACT FILE

Deaths: 168 in Mexico, 15 confirmed as swine flu. One confirmed in US., a 23-month-old boy from Mexico who died in Texas.

Confirmed sickened worldwide, 562: 343 in Mexico; 146 in US.; 35 in Canada; 13 in Spain; 10 in Britain; four each in Germany and New Zealand; two in Israel; one each in Switzerland, Austria, China, Denmark and The Netherlands. Mexico is no longer releasing "suspected" numbers; the number of suspected cases was 2,498 before the tally was halted.

JAMAICA - No cases detected The Ministry of Health has urged persons with flu-like symptoms to stay at home and consult a doctor immediately.

The Ministry of Agriculture is on high alert and has heightened its surveillance of the local swine population, and urged veterinarians, pig farmers and animal-health technicians to increase their vigilance and notify the Veterinary Services Division of any unexplained illnesses in swine.

WHO says it will stop using the term "swine flu" to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs. It will instead refer to the virus by its scientific name, 'H1N1 Influenza A'.