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No quarantines for pig farms with H1N1

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says farms where pigs have swine flu won’t be quarantined anymore because there is no need.

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says farms where pigs have swine flu won’t be quarantined anymore because there is no need.

The agency said in a news release Friday that it’s changing its approach due to research and observations made since the H1N1 virus was first detected in swine.

It says there is “no food safety risk associated with the virus; no evidence that animals play a significant role in the spread of the virus in the general human population and the virus does not behave any differently in pigs than other influenza viruses commonly detected in swine herds.”

The agency says affected animals “will be managed using the same veterinary management and biosecurity practices employed for other swine influenza viruses.”

A farm in central Alberta was quarantined at the end of April when about 220 pigs in a herd of 2,200 began showing signs of the flu.

China and several other countries on four continents banned the province’s pork after hearing about the quarantine.