By NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

COATESVILLE, Ind. — While pig jokes and misinformation about H1N1 virus “swine flu” ran rampant the past few weeks, one Indiana pork producer went on the offensive to spread the news that pork is safe.

Mark Legan and his wife, Phyllis, who market 32,000 hogs annually on their Putnam County farm, sent a letter to friends, neighbors and family on April 29 to calm any fears they may have about what was initially known as swine flu. “No doubt you have all heard of the outbreak of the H1N1 virus that the media is calling ‘Swine Flu,’” the letter said. “Our family feels compelled to provide you with the best information about this situation that we have available.”
The Legans provided facts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Pork Board (NPB) in countering rumors that have popped up.

The name of the H1N1 virus quickly spread as swine flu, but the WHO claims the proper name should be the North American Influenza.

“The best we understand is that viruses are named after the animal they are first found in,” Legan stated in the letter.
“This particular virus was isolated in a pig in 1930, thus the name Swine Flu has ‘stuck.’”

The letter stressed that so far no pigs or people working with pigs in Mexico or the United States have been found infected or sick with the virus.
Furthermore, it is not yet known if the new strain of the virus will even cause any type of illness in pigs.

The Legans’ final goal in the letter was to address the safety of pork consumption. “We would like to reassure you even if the virus was found in pigs, that the flu cannot be contracted from pork and pork products. Additionally, we have stepped up our biosecurity measures to protect our employees and the welfare of our animals,” they wrote.

The Legans added their phone number if recipients had any questions, and also provided the NPB’s website at www.pork.org for more information.

Mark Legan is a board member of the National Pork Producers Council and has served on county and state pork organizations and the Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB). Greg Slipher, livestock development specialist for the IFB, applauded Legan’s initiative in “setting the record straight” and presenting the positive side of agriculture.

He urged others to be the voice of agriculture when media blitzes take a wrong turn. “We all have the opportunity and obligation to establish ourselves as advocates with good information among our peers and friends who do not have a direct relationship with agriculture,” Slipher said.