United States-Concerns over global pork panic.

UNITED STATES-CONCERNS OVER WORLD PANIC.

The swine flu epidemic has prompted six countries to ban pork meat from parts of the United States, and the Australian Government hasn’t ruled out following suit.

Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says the government is keeping up with the latest information, and will abide with any safety precautions that are recommended by the World Health Organisation.

But Mr Burke has also reiterated the pork industry’s message that there’s no need for alarm about pork meat.

"At the moment, information is continuing to be updated as the epidemic is going through Mexico,’ he says.

"The latest information is readily available and I want to make sure that at no stage does Australia delay on acting on the latest information, and I’m confident that we’re doing that."

Australian pork producers have mixed views on whether pork sales will fall, from consumers wrongly linking pork consumption with the new strain of swine flu.

The World Health Organisation says there’s no risk of infection from this virus through eating cooked pork.

Russell Cox, from the West Australian Pork Producers Association, says Australian consumers need to listen to the authorities before deciding against eating pork.

"We have to respect our institutions, like the Department of Health," he says.

"We have to rely on their skill and expertise to advise the public if there was a concern about food safety.

"And based on all the information provided to this organisation in the last 24 to 48 hours, there is no concern whatsoever."

Vets have virtually ruled out any outbreak of the new swine flu virus among pigs in Australia.

Australian Veterinary Association president Dr Mark Lawrie says the virus can potentially go from people back into pigs.

But he says the chances of that happening here are slim to none.

"We would need reasonable numbers of people affected, and then those people exposed to, and working with, pigs, and then it might happen," he says.

"So hence the need to keep the vigilance up to make sure that people don’t get in, and if they do, that they are contained and treated and the virus is eliminated in that way."

A Western Australian pig consultant and vet, who’s just returned from a work trip to the United States, says he’s concerned swine flu could pose a serious threat to Australia’s pork industry.

Doctor John Carr says that, even if the flu doesn’t enter Australia, pork sales will significantly decrease.

"There is a concern regarding the association of a name," he says.

"But there is no swine influenza in Australian pork, and even if you buy pork that has come in from abroad, the meat is all processed, and the processing procedure and certainly cooking would render the virus inactive."

The international organisation responsible for improving animal health world-wide says the name "swine flu" is wrong and misleading.

The World Organisation for Animal Health says the virus circulating in Mexico and the US is transmitted from person to person, and there is no evidence that the virus is transmitted by food.

The organisation says: "The virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore, it is not justified to name this disease ’swine influenza’."

It says that, in the past, many human influenza epidemics with animal origin have been named using their geographic name, like ’Spanish influenza’ or ’Asiatic influenza’, so it would be logical to call this disease ’North American influenza’.

The World Organisation for Animal Health also says it’s unfair to impose quarantine restrictions on pork imports until science can show if the virus is circulating among farm animals.