Washington, DC – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) made the following remarks on the House floor today, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
Washington, DC – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) made the following remarks on the House floor today, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
“As cold and flu season is quickly approaching, media reports in my district and around the country are reporting on the exposure to the H1N1 flu virus.
“I recently met with the Kentucky Pork Producers, who raised concerns that the media and individuals referring to the H1N1 flu virus as the ‘swine flu’ is having a negative effect on them.
“Because it is referred to as the swine flu, individuals may think that the H1N1 flu virus can be caught from eating or handling pork.
“However, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have repeated on various occasions that this is not a food-borne illness, but a respiratory virus.
“Secretary Vilsack said recently that the virus should not be called “swine flu” because there is no indication that any swine from the United States has been infected, nor is there a significant risk of transmission by eating pork.
“Pork and pork products are safe; and H1N1 flu virus cannot be acquired from eating pork. There are a lot of hardworking families in my district and across the United States whose livelihoods are harmed by this misconception.”
