ThePigSite Newsletter - 18 May 2009

ThePigSite Weekly Newsletter

Monday 18th May 2009

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Effects of H1N1 Flu Rumble On

While the number of human patients with the influenza A H1N1 virus continues to rise, the effects of the infection on the pig industry worldwide rumble on despite every assurance that infection cannot be transmitted in pig meat.

The good news is that in Korea, pork sales are reportedly recovering after taking a knock last month while the New Zealand industry remains buoyant. At the other extreme, not a single pig has been sold at market in the worst flu-affected region of Mexico. An executive of one of Thailand's largest pig companies predicts it will take another six months for the industry to recover there.

The source of the H1N1 virus remains elusive. Further investigations on the pig farm in the Mexican town where the first human patient became infected have again turned in a negative result. It's to be hoped that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's recent success in studying the genetic make-up of the virus will help future efforts to solve the mystery of its origin as well as leading to improved control measures.

As there is a public holiday in the UK next Monday, the next newsletter from ThePigSite will be sent to you on Tuesday 26 May.

Jackie Linden

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 7 new features this week:

Study Reveals Secrets of Swine Influenza Virus in Thailand
Researchers based at Chulalongkorn University have investigated the pathogenesis of Thai isolates of the swine influenza virus (SIV) sub-types H1N1 and H3N2 in weaned pigs. Editor of ThePigSite, Jackie Linden, summarises their report on this hottest of topics.

How Can Heat Stress Affect your Production?
Dr Luiz Souza, post-doctoral associate in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota offers advice on strategies to protect the herd against higher temperatures, and tips to recognise the clinical signs of heat stress in order to take the best preventative actions.

Omega-3 Enriched Pork
Kees de Lange presented this paper at the Centralia Swine Research Update on 28 January 2009, discussing the health benefits of poly-unsaturated, omega-3 fatty acids for humans and how some some omega-3 fatty acids are more beneficial than others.

Piglet Processing and Swine Welfare
Dr Allen Harper, Extension Animal Scientist – Swine at Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC, considers the implications on piglet welfare of teeth clipping, tail docking, castration, iron injection and ear notching or tagging.

US Feed Outlook - May 2009
Forecasted feed grain area planted in 2009, based on the 31 March Prospective Plantings, is down by two per cent from 2008, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates - May 2009
Pork production is expected to be below 2009 levels in first half 2010 but it could pick up in the second half of the year as returns improve and carcass weights increase, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, produced by the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board.

Centralia Swine Research Update 2009
The 28th Centralia Swine Research Update was held at Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre in Canada on 28 January 2009.