swine

11 Stories

UK Has an Unwanted First: Human Case of Swine Flu

At least 50 cases have been reported worldwide since 2005, so far with little consequence

(Newser) - The UK has joined a club it would have rather avoided: countries in which a human caught a case of swine flu. The unidentified patient has fully recovered from what was described as a mild illness, reports New Scientist . Health authorities say the person didn't work with pigs—the...

Feral Hogs Destroy Forest Cocaine Stash

Cops heard wiretapped traffickers complain

(Newser) - A group of drug traffickers heard on a wiretap complaining that pigs had found their cocaine stash weren't talking about the police. Authorities in Italy arrested four suspected traffickers after they heard them lament that a pack of wild boars had dug up a package of cocaine worth around...

Swine Fever Outbreak Expected to Wipe Out a Quarter of All Pigs

Finding a vaccine is a 'complex challenge'

(Newser) - The World Organization for Animal Health says around a quarter of the global pig population is expected to die from African swine fever. Dr. Mark Schipp, the organization's vice president, told reporters in Australia that the spread of the disease in the past year to countries including China, which...

African Swine Fever Reaches South Korea

Outbreak threatens to wreak havoc on herds

(Newser) - South Korea has confirmed a second case of African swine fever near its border with North Korea, raising concerns that the outbreak could spread and wreak havoc on the country's massive pig herds. An official from South Korea's agriculture ministry said Wednesday that workers were planning to cull...

Experts: Don't Blame Pigs for Swine Flu

H1N1 virus likely arose among jet-setting humans

(Newser) - The humble porker shouldn't be the one taking the blame for the H1N1 virus, scientists tell the Los Angeles Times. Pigs provided some of the raw material for the virus, experts say, but so did birds and humans. The most likely incubators and spreaders of the virus, according to scientists,...

Flu's 'Ground Zero' May Be Mexican 5-Year-Old

4-year-old boy survived flu in village near huge pig farm

(Newser) - Mexican authorities have tracked the first known case of a mutant strain of swine flu to a boy in a village near a huge pig farm, the Guardian reports. Edgar Hernandez, 4, survived the outbreak of illness in the eastern Mexico village of La Gloria in February, but two babies...

Mexican Swine Flu Outbreak Kills 60
Mexican Swine Flu Outbreak Kills 60
updated
Apr 24, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

Mexican Swine Flu Outbreak Kills 60

WHO officials link 'novel' strain to 7 non-lethal cases in US

(Newser) - An outbreak of swine flu in Mexico has left 60 people dead and hundreds of others infected, the BBC reports. The World Health Organization says the strain that killed at least 12 of the victims has the same genetic structure of the flu that sickened seven people in Texas and...

Bizarre Swine Flu Strikes West

Newly detected swine flu virus may be spreading from person to person

(Newser) - Seven people in California and Texas have been struck by swine flu despite having no contact with pigs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Baffled investigators believe the unusual, newly detected form of the flu may be spreading from person to person. The symptoms are similar to standard influenza, leading officials...

Critics Beef About Pig Explosions in US Army Tests

Campaigners question need to test body armor by blowing up pigs in Humvees

(Newser) - Animal rights activists have condemned the US military for blowing up live pigs to test body armor, USA Today reports. Military officials say the tests provided valuable information on the relationship between body armor and brain injury. But critics say the pig-blasting program caused unnecessary animal suffering for questionable results....

Hunters Battle Invasion of Hungry Hogs

Tough, wily, feral swine are spreading fast through the US

(Newser) - Hog hunters are finding their services in demand as the wild beasts spread across the country, reports the New York Times. The porkers—descendants of pigs brought by Spanish explorers, escaped swine from farms, and wild boar released by hunters—weigh up to 400 pounds and cause around $800 million...

Deadly Swine Disease Sweeps China
Deadly Swine Disease
Sweeps China
Aug 16, 2007 1:10 AM CDT

Deadly Swine Disease Sweeps China

Virus sparks fears of global threat

(Newser) - A virulent strain of deadly swine disease is sweeping through Chinese livestock, triggering a pork shortage, rampant inflation and worldwide worries about where the virus will appear next, the New York Times reports. China, one the world's biggest hog exporters, is refusing to cooperate with international health organizations and may...

11 Stories