From Egypt’s order that all 300,000 pigs in the country be slaughtered to travel bans and putting the kibosh on kissing, the world is taking drastic — and some say debatable — measures to combat swine flu.
Egypt ordered the pig slaughter even though there hasn’t been a single case of swine flu there and there is no evidence that pigs have spread the disease. Britain, with only five cases, is trying to buy 32 million masks. At airports from Japan and South Korea to Greece and Turkey, thermal cameras were trained on airline passengers to see if any were feverish. And Lebanon discouraged traditional Arab peck-on-the-cheek greetings, even though no one has come down with the virus there.
All this and more has occurred even though world health experts say many of these measures may not stop the disease from spreading.
The World Health Organization said total bans on travel to Mexico — such as one imposed by Argentina, which hasn’t had any confirmed cases — would have very little if any effect at stopping the movement of the virus.
Nor will killing pigs, as Egypt began doing Wednesday, infuriating pig farmers who blocked streets and stoned Health Ministry workers’ vehicles in protest.
Unlike bird flu, where the H5N1 strain that spread to humans was widespread in bird populations, WHO says there is no similar concern about pigs.
“There is no association that we’ve found between pigs and the disease in humans,” WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said.
But some anti-flu measures have merit, such as President Barack Obama’s admonition Wednesday that more American schools might have to be closed temporarily if swine-flu cases spread.
The WHO said closing schools and public places, along with banning or restricting mass gatherings, can be a way to contain the spread of disease.
“That’s a technique we would be recommending in a pandemic,” Thompson said.
