How does it affect pigs and humans and what can be done to prevent it spreading?
by BETH YOUNG and CATE DEWEY
Swine influenza, also known as swine flu, is a respiratory disease caused by the type A influenza virus. This classical H1N1 swine influenza virus is common in Canadian swine herds and may cause outbreaks of clinical disease, in the fall and winter.
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect people, but occasional human infections with the classical H1N1 swine influenza have been reported. These cases happen in people who have had direct exposure to pigs. There are 50 reported cases world-wide since the early 1970s.