Swine flu found in Canadian pig herd

A pig herd in Canada has tested positive for swine flu after reportedly being infected by a farm worker.

Officials have quarantined the herd of about 200 pigs in Alberta, western Canada, in what is thought to be the first case of animals catching the disease.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the pigs may have been infected by a farm worker who had recently returned from Mexico.

The Agency stressed there were no concerns about food safety as a result of the outbreak and that the virus had not spread beyond the farm.

The chances of the pigs transferring the H1N1 virus to humans was remote and the infected man and pigs were recovering, it added.

The outbreak came as the World Health Organisation agreed to industry demands that the virus should not be called swine flu, as it was confusing for consumers.

Instead, the WHO will now refer to the virus as H1N1 influenza A.