But seriously, news reaches your correspondent that a farm-worker in Alberta, Canada, has managed to infect a herd of pigs. The good news, for the pigs at least, is that they are recovering from the sneezing and runny snouts that affected them last week. The bad news is that they're now in quarantine.
Sadly, there is worse news still. China banned all imports of Albertan pork yesterday, and it is feared that the US may follow shortly. Given that Canada is the third largest exporter of pork - after the US and the European Union - and that Canadian bacon is virtually a brand name is the US, this is a serious blow to the economy.
According to a staff reporter at the Globe and Mail, swine influenza is common and spreads quickly because pigs live in close quarters and, unlike schoolchildren, they are 'not subject to constant admonitions to wash their hooves and cough into their sleeves'. Clearly, Canadians have not lost their sense of humour...
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