With the fear of a swine flu pandemic, people question “Can swine diseases be
transmitted to humans?” and have doubts as to whether it is safe to eat the flesh of
pigs. Swine flu virus is also called H1N1 flu is endemic in swine and belongs to the
influenza virus family.

Though the swine flu virus is very common in swine herds all over the world, the
transmission of this virus to humans from the pigs is rare and does not result in human
flu, but leads to the production of certain antibodies in blood of humans. In cases
where the transmission does take place, it causes “zoonotic” swine influenza. There is
a possibility of people who are regularly exposed to swine to get this type of swine flue.
However eating the meat/flesh of an infected pig does not pose any risk of infection
when the flesh is cooked properly.

Out of the three types of flu viruses that results in human flu, two of them also result in
flu in swine – influenza A which is common in swine and influenza C which is rare.
Influenza B has not been found in pigs. The influenza C viruses are said to affect
both pigs and humans but not birds. Though transmission between humans and pigs
has occurred amongst children in California and Japan in the past, it was a very mild
form of flu and did not cause a pandemic.

The importance of keeping your surroundings clean and germ free is one of the basic
steps/measures that is needed to keep all infection away. The Smittstopp Company in
Sweden have introduced a spray that is most effective in killing all viruses and bacteria
in a second or two. The Smittstopp (stop the disease from spreading) spray bonds very
strongly to almost any type of surface. It is long lasting and has a long term prevention
guarantee. This spray gives the surface it is sprayed on, a thin layer of cationic polymer
which works on the electrostatic attraction technology. The cationic polymer is
positively charged and automatically attracts the anionic (negatively charged)
microorganisms and viruses to it. As soon as these microorganisms and viruses get
stuck to the sprayed surface, they get destroyed instantly.

It is important to keep the surface clean so that the spray remains effective. The
Smittstopp spray is a disinfectant and a cleaner. It removes all fat, grease and dirt from
the surface. Once it is sprayed on you should leave it to dry for a few minutes. Care
should be taken to see that no normal cleaner is used on top of the sprayed surface
because these cleaners are usually negatively charged and this will neutralize the
Smittstopp spray.

If the Smittstopp spray is sprayed on all commonly and frequently touched surfaces like
switches, railings, door knobs, handles, cell phones, table tops, etc as well as in public
places like bus stops, inside buses and public transportation, clinics and hospitals,
malls etc. it will ensure safety from every kind of virus and bacteria.

If you are still wondering “Can swine diseases be transmitted to humans?” then you
should know that swine diseases like subtypes of Influenza A – H1N1, H2N3, H1N2
are the common strains in the world and was prevalent in swine herds before 1998.
There is a surveillance network which is an informal one in the US that determines the
type of viruses that circulate in pigs. It is a relief to know that transmission that is direct
from swine to humans is rare with only about 12 isolated cases in the US since the
year 2005.