Reuters: UN agency slams Egypt order to cull all pigs

ROME (Reuters) - Egypt's order on Wednesday to cull all the country's pigs is 'a real mistake' and another reason why the world needs to rethink using 'swine flu' to describe a virus affecting humans, a U.N. agency official said.

Egypt, where pigs are mainly raised by the country's Christian minority, described the order to slaughter the animals as a precautionary measure in a country hard hit by bird flu. Up to 400,000 pigs could be culled, a cabinet spokesman said.

Joseph Domenech, the chief veterinary officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, told Reuters his staff were trying to reach Egyptian authorities to correct any confusion about a virus that has killed humans but not been found in pigs.

Reuters AlertNet - UN agency slams Egypt order to cull all pigs