LA GLORIA, Mexico, May 10 (UPI) -- The swine flu epidemic has inflamed tensions between Mexican residents and U.S. pork producers they believe are affecting their health, observers say.
Health officials have found no connection between the swine flu virus and corporate farming operations near La Gloria, Mexico, operated by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods of Virginia. But local farmers and other residents aren't convinced because they have long blamed the facilities for a variety of illnesses suffered by local people, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
"To the people of this community, what brought about this (swine flu) problem was the pig farms," local Mayor Guillermo Franco Vazquez told the Post. "To clear up this myth -- or to confirm it as reality -- we need more studies."
The Mexican swine flu outbreak was centered in the southeastern state of Veracruz, near La Gloria, where a 5-year-old boy was identified as one of the first confirmed cases of the new virus, fanning long-simmering complaints against Smithfield's use of vast, open-air waste lagoons and the health problems they may pose, the Post said.
Smithfield "believes that it has had no negative impact on the local community or the environment through its operations," said company official Gregg Schmidt.
