After an initial uproar heard ‘round the world, calmer heads are now prevailing regarding the H1N1 influenza virus as a public health issue and not a food issue. While cases are still being reported, the U.S. enters the summer months health officials believe that the number of cases will decline in the Northern Hemisphere. However, as the Southern Hemisphere begins its winter season, there is a possibility more flu cases may appear there.

To help our members around the world stay current about this flu outbreak, PMA has added a H1N1 flu resource page to its Web site. The page contains links to various U.S. and global health agencies, and will be updated with new links should more information become available. At a pandemic planning meeting I attended last week, health officials recommended that pandemic plans be updated in the event the H1N1 flu reemerges in the coming Northern Hemisphere fall and winter seasons. If you’re a PMA member and would like to receive our email issue alerts, please contact the PMA Solution Center to subscribe.

Tags: Food Defense, Food Safety

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am and is filed under Food Defense, Global Trade. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.