Swine flu hurting pork producers

RUSHVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - The recent rise in the number of people diagnosed with swine flu over the last week has cause pork sales to tumble, and is causing pork producers to worry.

According to our partners at the Rushville Republican , health officials have gone to great lengths to call the bug by a more official name, influenza A (H3N2v), and tell people it is safe to eat pork products. But pork farmers are worried the name "swine flu" will stick and it will have the same negative effects on their business as it did back in 2009.

State agricultural officials say Indiana's pork industry took a financial hit, almost $50 million in losses, back in 2009.

The Centers for Disease Control call the strain a "swine-virus," meaning it has yet to be detected as being passed from human to human. The CDC also says this new flu strain has genetic similarities to the first "swine flu" (H1N1) that popped up in 2009.

The first case of the new strain was detected in Indiana in July 2011 in a child who regularly handled pigs. And Indiana seems to be the epicenter of the new swine flu for a reason. As of Thursday, the state has the largest number of confirmed human cases in the U.S.

Health officials are saying that those who have been infected got the bug from handling sick pigs. However, now, as back then, officials are saying it is O.K. to eat pork and visit pigs.

Hog farmers, unlike other crop farmers, do not have insurance to cover their losses.