Afghanistan Quarantines Its Lone Pig

Kabul Zoo officials have locked up the only known pig in Afghanistan to allay visitors' fears that it might spread swine flu, Reuters reports. Pork is illegal in Afghanistan for religious reasons; the country’s lone porcine resident is a zoo animal. “For now, the pig is under quarantine,” said the zoo director. “We built it a room.”

With no other pigs around and no civilian flights between Kabul and Mexico, the odds of the pig getting the disease, much less passing it to humans, are astronomical. “We understand that,” the zoo director said. “But most people don’t have enough knowledge. When they see the pig in the cage, they get worried and think that they could get ill.” (More swine flu stories.)