As of Thursday, the number of swine flu cases had jumped to more than 2,000 globally, with Sweden and Poland the most recent to report cases among a total of 24 affected nations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning a meeting with experts next week to discuss the possible need to quickly develop a pandemic vaccine.

Meanwhile, WHO Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases Director Jorgen Schlundt warned against consuming meat suspected of contamination with swine flu virus as he stated, “Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be processed or used for human consumption under any circumstances.”
Some medical experts believe that viral infection is an ever-present hazard in factory farmed animals. Among those sharing this view is Dr. Neal Barnard,vegan President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who explained in a phone interview with Supreme Master Television that eating the meat of farmed animals is never completely safe.

Dr. Neal Barnard – Clinical researcher, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and The Cancer Project, VEGAN (M): We have to think of a factory farm as a place where you have an enormous number of animals, each one of whom acts like a mixing bowl for viruses.

Birds are the ultimate source of influenza viruses. When a bird virus then gets into a pig farm, as happens quite easily, then the pig’s body is like a mixing bowl where new viruses are formed from the older viruses. And if you don’t have pig farms then there is much less possibility of new viruses forming.

And ideally if we had no pig farms at all, you could get rid of influenza. You’d have to get rid of chicken farms as well because it can be borne by birds too. But this peculiar habit of eating animals unfortunately is creating a lot of health problems.

VOICE: We thank Dr. Neal Barnard for this reminder of our ability to safeguard from diseases such as the swine flu through a change in lifestyle. Our appreciation also goes to Director Schlundt and the World Health Organization for their latest caution against swine flu contaminated meat in the interest of protecting public health. We pray that people worldwide are spared this global illness that can cause so much distress and sorrow, through the root solution of choosing an animal-free diet.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-flu7-2009may07,0,3208023.story
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jewAnZvLTJi9A6Za8PQgUt3x6B9g
http://www.coloradodaily.com/news/2009/may/05/no-pork-is-not-safe/
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-05-05-voa52.cfm