No live pigs imported from U.S. contaminated with new flu virus

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- No live pigs imported from the United States for
breeding purposes have been infected with the new type-A influenza that claimed
53 lives around the world, the government said Monday.
The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said it checked
65 pigs that were imported before the ban was issued on April 29, with all tests
turning up negative for the variant H1N1 virus.
Seoul stopped all imports of live pigs from North America after large-scale
outbreaks were reported last month.
As of early Monday, the World Health Organization reported 4,694 confirmed cases
of human infections in 30 countries. All deaths, however, have been restricted to
Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica.
The pigs examined were brought into the country April 24, but the quarantine
service said it decided to check them as a precautionary measure.
The NVRQS, meanwhile, said it is conducting detailed checkups on 100 pigs
imported from Canada this year and 178 pigs that were raised on the same farm.
Experts said that because the pigs are not the direct cause of the flu, which
seems to be a mix of swine, bird and human flu, there is little risk that they
may be carrying the virus.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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