No more pork fried rice.
"Estimates of how many pigs have died in the past year vary, ranging from at least 2.7 million to more than 6 million."
There may be a trademark fee due.
"Pork prices on rise as virus takes toll on pig farms" by M.L. Johnson | Associated Press April 09, 2014
MILWAUKEE — A virus never before seen in the United States has killed millions of baby pigs in less than a year, and with little known about how it spreads or how to stop it, it’s threatening pork production and pushing up prices by 10 percent or more.
Scientists think porcine epidemic diarrhea, which does not infect humans or other animals, came from China, but they don’t know how it got into the country or spread to 27 states since May. The government is looking into how such viruses might spread, while the pork industry, wary of future outbreaks, has committed $1.7 million to research the disease.
Really makes one confident in the FDA.
The United States is both a top producer and exporter of pork, but production could decline about 7 percent this year compared with last — the biggest drop in more than 30 years, according to a recent report from Rabobank, which focuses on the food, beverage, and agribusiness industries.
Already, prices have shot up.
***************
Estimates of how many pigs have died in the past year vary, ranging from at least 2.7 million to more than 6 million. The US Department of Agriculture says the die-off has had a hand in shrinking the nation’s pig herd by 3 percent to about 63 million pigs.
Diarrhea affects pigs like people: Symptoms that are uncomfortable in adults become life-threatening in newborns that dehydrate quickly. The best chance at saving young pigs is to wean them and then pump them with clear fluids that hydrate them without taxing their intestines. But nothing could be done for the youngest ones except euthanasia.
PED thrives in cold weather, so the death toll has soared since December.
Related: The Boston Globe's Doughnut Wars
That global-warming cup getting kinda cold.
The first reports came from the Midwest, and the states most affected are those with the largest share of pigs: Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Illinois. The disease also has spread to Canada and Mexico.
Some states now require a veterinarian to certify that pigs coming in are virus-free, while China, which has seen repeated outbreaks since the 1980s, has asked the US Department of Agriculture to similarly vouch for animals shipped overseas.
Companies are racing to develop a vaccine, but the government has yet to approve one.
Now I am very suspicious of where the virus came from. What biological pathogen was released?
--more--"
On the flip side, I find in-your-face-laughers not funny at all.
