Swine Respiratory Disease - Swine Flu in Pigs
The outbreak is upon us! Is it really
cause for alarm, though? Lately, swine flu is the only
thing-seemingly-that our news channels have had to talk about-with
constant updates and analysis. While you may have a good working
knowledge of what swine flu is, how to contract it, and what is the
current spread looking like in the United States and Mexico, you may
be unsure of what swine flu is and how it works in pigs. To best
understand what the current strains of the swine flu virus means to
our health as humans, it’s best to start with an overview of what
the swine flu originated as: a flu just for pigs. Here we discuss
the swine flu in pigs for your convenience:
What is Swine Respiratory Disease?
 Swine
flu is a respiratory disease of pigs cause by type A influenza
virus. It has always been around-probably since the beginning of pigs,
really. For most of us, the concept of swine flu seems like a new
danger posed at our livestock and our families, but really swine
have been contracting and passing on virus strains of swine flu
forever.
Every year, there are massive
swine flu outbreaks among swine, and these occur mostly in the
late Fall and early Winter seasons. Though there won’t be an even
worrisome rate of death in pigs due to the outbreak, it will cause
illness. An ill pig can be a worthless pig to many farmers and
livestock dealers and so more often than not, a herder will
vaccinate their pigs each season-if outbreak has been common in
their particular herd. This said, not every farmer will vaccinate
their pigs.
If the pigs are not vaccinated and
have contracted the swine flu virus, the most that will happen to
them probably is they will show symptoms such as the following:
coughing, sneezing, respiratory difficulty, red eyes, low appetite,
fever, and depression. If these symptoms go unnoticed, the swine flu
can pass to a human through close contact.
Recommended Reading:
What is Swine Flu
(Influenza A H1N1)?
Swine Flu
and WHO's Pandemic Scale
Do I Need Mask for
Swine Flu Protection?
Symptoms
of Swine Flu - Fever, Fatigue, Diarrhea and More
Swine Flu
Prevention Tips
How Does
Swine Flu Spread?
What to Do if You
Think You Have Swine Flu
Swine Respiratory Disease -
Swine Flu in Pigs
Swine Flu
in Humans
How Many
Swine Viruses Are There?
The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (new)
Swine Flu
Treatment - Tamiflu, Relenza Antiviral (new)
No Swine Flu from Eating Pork,
Safe to Eat
(new)
Cold vs Flu - Major Differences
Between Cold and Flu (new)
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