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Only a handful of pigs were at the St. Joseph Stockyards Monday morning. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials reported that no pigs in the United States have been infected with the swine flu.

A potential solution to swine flu could come out of St. Joseph.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has developed a vaccine for swine flu that is currently waiting for regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“It won’t be the solution, but it is one tool,” said George Heidgerken, president and chief operating officer of Boehringer.

Mr. Heidgerken said he expects the USDA to require all hogs in the United States to be vaccinated for swine flu, but enough vaccine supplies are available only to treat a fraction of the herd, he said. As the disease has caused more than 140 human deaths in Mexico and caused numerous outbreaks in the United States, Mr. Heidgerken is anxious to get Boehringer’s product to market.

“There might be more sense of urgency in approving a new swine flu vaccine,” he said.

Boehringer already produces vaccines for other swine diseases in St. Joseph. Mr. Heidgerken made his remarks Monday at a ceremony where Buchanan County presented the company with $100,000, the first installment on economic development incentives. Boehringer will build a $150 million expansion and create at least 124 jobs, paying $60,000 per year.

“I think it’s an investment in the future, and we’ll make it happen,” Mr. Heidgerken said. Approval of the new vaccine may speed up the process. “The more swine influenza vaccine we sell, the more jobs we can have.”

Even though hogs are treated with the flu vaccine, so far, no pigs in the United States have the disease, USDA reports. The new strain is a hybrid of swine, bird and human flus that affects humans.

Animal health producers are working to stop the spread of the new strain.

“Diseases don’t know boundaries,” said Ben Richey, executive director of the U.S. Animal Health Association, which is headquartered in St. Joseph. “It’s an example of how quickly disease can spread.”

However, the industry is prepared to respond, he said.

“For pork producers, this is something they watch for,” Mr. Richey said. “Swine flu is not uncommon in the United States.”

Few hogs came to market at the St. Joseph Stockyards on Monday, but workers said that was probably due to heavy rains instead of disease fears. Hog prices were down as the market reacted to the news.

Triumph Foods slaughters 18,000 hogs a day in St. Joseph, with virtually all of the pigs coming from farms owned by the producers who own the plant.

“As an industry, we are very diligent to make sure the hogs are healthy,” said Patt Lilly, chief administrative officer of Triumph Foods.

The company’s greatest concern is that because the disease is named swine flu, people will avoid eating pork, Mr. Lilly said. USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report people cannot get the disease by eating pork or handling raw meat. It is spread by contact with infected pigs or a person with the disease.

Susan Mires can be reached

at susanm@npgco.com.