China has stopped imports of Alberta pork after the H1N1 virus was discovered in a herd of pigs, Chinese state media is reporting.
Xinhua news agency said the information came from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Jurgen Preugschas, president of the Canadian Pork Council, told the Canadian Press he had received word Sunday from contacts in China confirming a ban. He said China was making a "very quick decision" and hoped the ban would end soon.
At least eight other countries have put restrictions on live swine and pork product imports, however China is the largest market to do so.
The U.S. and Japan are Canada's biggest customers for pork products and those markets remain open.
Canadian officials announced the pig infections Saturday and said the virus found in the animals matched the virus that has sickened hundreds of people around the world.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency stressed at Saturday's news conference that eating pork does not pose a flu threat to humans.
About 220 of the 2,200 pigs in the herd started to show signs of infection on April 24, according to Dr. Brian Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Authorities said a farm worker who travelled to Mexico and fell ill when he returned to Canada last month infected the pigs with the H1N1 virus.
The herd, which resides on a farm in central Alberta, has been quarantined and many of the pigs have already recovered, Evans said Saturday.
A spokesperson for Alberta's agriculture ministry told The Canadian Press that they are aware of the report from China but unsure if it is true.
"We have heard that. Our officials are trying to confirm that with the federal government. It's the federal government that has responsibility for trade," Cathy Housdorff said in a phone interview.
H1N1 in animals
Officials at the World Health Organization said Sunday they "expected" to find cases of the H1N1 virus in pigs and were therefore not surprised that it was discovered in animals at an Alberta farm.
"I must say we expected that at some point, since this virus has swine virus elements, that we would find the virus in swine pigs in the region where the virus is circulating," Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO food safety scientist, told reporters Sunday during a news conference.
On Sunday, Embarek emphasized that anyone who may be infected with the virus should avoid pig farms.
He also said that officials in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have increased surveillance efforts but warned that more cases could still be detected in pigs.
Embarek also said that pig herd culls, such as those occurring in Egypt, are unnecessary, as the virus is not a food-borne disease.
Hog prices were down last week as the H1N1 virus -- also known as the swine flu -- made headlines around the world. In Canada, there is already reduced demand for pork products, even though officials have stressed there is no health risk to consumers.
First case in Manitoba
Health Authorities in Manitoba confirmed the province's first case of H1N1 on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections across the country to 101:
- Nova Scotia: 33
- British Columbia: 29
- Alberta: 18
- Ontario: 16
- Quebec: 3
- Manitoba: 1
- New Brunswick: 1
Dr. Joel Kettner, the province's chief public health officer, says a girl who lives in the Brandon area has a mild case of the virus. She does not require hospitalization and is now recovering.
The girl is a student at Brandon's Riverheights School and is between 10 and 19 years of age.
On Saturday, there were several new cases confirmed in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. But so far, all of the infections have been mild.
With files from The Canadian Press
