skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Swine Flu in WI: A Case of I Told You So?

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 5, 2009   

Madison, WI - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed at least three cases of H1N1 flu (swine flu) in Wisconsin. While it is unclear where the current strain of the swine flu originated and how it is spreading, one expert says the clues are pointing to industrial hog farms in the same area as the first documented cases.

Wisconsin is currently home to 184 of these large farms, called concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. The state designates a farm as a CAFO if there are more than 1,000 animals on the property.

Pew Environment Group senior officer Bob Martin says a study Pew released last year predicted this worldwide scenario and warned of the connection to CAFOs - and the need for safer conditions for animals, and thus, humans. He says there's no proof of where the current flu strain came from yet, but the outbreak is no surprise.

"A year ago, we released a report, and we said this is a very strong worry we have. We really, at that time, were saying it's not a matter of if, but when."

The report recommends farm workers be tested for flu regularly because the first wave of people infected often show no symptoms. The company that owns concentrated animal feeding operations in the area of the first flu cases has said it is impossible the virus came from their facilities because their testing shows the virus is not present in the animals.

Martin says eating pork products will not expose anyone to the virus. But the close proximity of animals in industrial operations allows them to pass viruses back and forth, which can lead to mutations able to make the jump to workers in contact with the animals eight hours a day.

"They're like viral incubators – there might be 10,000 to 15,000 pigs in one facility. Workers in the barn, in the environment, have prolonged exposure with the pigs."

Wisconsin's CAFO rules have been in place since 1984 and some are suggesting tighter regulations.

The Pew report is at www.ncifap.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021