pig density,fever,cough

[Admin]

In France, swine influenza is a source of concern, particularly in Brittany which is the region with the highest pig density. Currently, the H1N1 and H1N2 serotypes are actively circulating while the H3N2 serotype is much less present. Influenza may cause fever, cough, reduced feed intake, reduced average daily weight gain and economic loss. The control of influenza is hampered by the intense movements of animals and the enzootic and epizootic features of the disease. The continuous evolution of influenza viruses, the role of pigs as mixing vessels and the potential interference with avian sources, in particular turkey farms, underline the need for a straight epidemiological surveillance of the disease.
prit:
http://www.thepigsite.com/biblio/issue/17/399/virology/swine-influenza

[Admin]

The long French summer vacation. School kids get nearly two months off. For parents who work, it is a headache knowing what to do with the kids. Hence the age old French practice of packing your kids off to a Colonie de Vacances – a kind residential kids holiday centre by the sea or in the country. Every year there are thousands of kids across the land from Calais to Calvi, who are packed off the Colonies de Vacances run by the parents’ employers, or the local authorities or charities.

Many summers ago, I worked in a colonie de vacances, looking after kids, having to amuse them all day. It was the worst summer of my life. That though is another story.

Of course, when you shut lots kids up together in a confined space, they contaminate each other. I note with interest today in one Colonie de Vacances, 24 kids and one helper, have come down with swine flu or A/H1N1 as the media are now calling it.

No one seems unduly worried and the media are not screaming for the closure of residential holiday centres. This is France though
prit: http://www.fabfrog.com/2009/07/11/la-grippe-du-cochon-en-colo-6493275/