Striking a more cautious chord than previous health agencies, the World Health Organizaiton (WHO) announced today that meat from pigs infected with H1N1 flu (the so-called “Swine Flu”) should not be used for human consumption. The WHO also stated that it was preparing guidelines designed for workers handling the pigs.
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According to Reuters, two global health agencies had previously downplayed such concerns: “the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said import bans are not required to safeguard public health because the disease is not food-borne and has not been identified in dead animal tissue.”
WHO officials think the flu virus could survive freezing and be present in thawed meat or blood.
According to the WHO, 22 countries have officially reported 1,534 cases of the flu virus.