Another mutation of swine flu imminent as humans pass the virus to pigs. 20 July 2009

The Argentine government has issued an emergency health alert after pig herds on two separate farms were found to have the new variant of swine flu that has become a pandemic in humans. Although this version of the virus has caused only mild symptoms in pigs, it poses the threat of mutating and being passed back onto humans in an even more deadly form.

Pigs are known to be effective virus carriers for humans, other pigs and birds, which can then be passed back to humans. This was shown to be the case in the 1918 pandemic which took the lives of 100 million people. Currently, even with countries such as
Canada no longer keeping a record due to the innumerable people who have been afflicted, the global toll for the A(H1N1) pandemic continues to rise, with 779 fatalities that have occurred among the 137,232 officially reported cases across 137 countries.

A first fatality in the Southeast Asia region was also just reported in Singapore. Argentina, with at least 137 lives lost, now has the highest number of fatalities after the United States, whose count was at 263 as of last Friday. In addition, Saudi Arabia has seen more than 30 cases within a 24-hour period, for a total of 285 confirmed. Experts in the US are saying that more than one million in the nation are likely infected at this time, with another rise expected when school starts again.

As reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), expectant mothers have also been seen to be especially vulnerable. Even though they make up just 1 percent of the US population, they represent 8 percent of patients with severe swine flu cases. 

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those mourning the loss of a loved one as well as all who are suffering from this most costly pandemic. We look forward to the day when the health-encouraging plant-based diet makes these unnatural pig herds and their resultant meat consumption a thing of the past, for the safety and vitality of all humanity.

Reference:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25799078-5006784,00.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN17480611._CH_.2400
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iB43muSPt0t-3ZNv0-aYJt0n2sUwD99GD99G5
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aM920uyWZ.zM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-flu18-2009jul18,0,6483644.story