Thursday, January 15, 2009 NegOcc vet assures pigs safe from Ebola Reston
NEGROS Occidental Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Renante Decena assured no sign of Ebola Reston was observed in the entire province amid reports of the virus testing positive in some hog farms in Luzon late last year.
Decena told Sun.Star that "since Ebola was noted in several hog farms in Luzon, we were afraid that it might spread to Negros but we're happy to report we did not detect the virus in our investigation throughout the province," adding that research and investigation on possible Ebola cases in hog farms in Luzon are ongoing and the Provincial Veterinary Office is waiting for reports to be sent to them.
Late last year, several global health authorities came to the country to investigate the reported presence of the Ebola Reston virus after American scientists discovered it on dead pigs in a hog farm in Pangasinan. The virus, as earlier reported, can usually be found in monkeys.
Pigs serve as genetic mixing vessels for viruses that pass from animals to humans, making the Philippine discovery significant, a report said.
As of August 30, 2007, 103 people (100 adults and three children) were infected by a suspected hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the village of Kampungu, Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus was discovered. The outbreak started after the funerals of two village chiefs. About 217 people in four villages became ill.
The World Health Organization sent a team to take blood samples for analysis and confirmed that many of the cases were the result of the virus. Congo's last major Ebola epidemic killed 245 people in 1995 in Kikwit, about 200 miles from the source of the August 2007 outbreak.
"We are coordinating with our head office in Manila for immediate reports so that we could prepare for anything that would stop Ebola from reaching Negros. Once the virus reaches the land, it would not be that easy to trace and detect it," Decena said.
The provincial veterinarian earlier issued precautionary measures to prevent the entry and spread of the virus in the province.
Travelers are advised not to bring in meat (pork) products, especially those from Luzon while investigation on said virus continues.
Transport of hogs from outside Negros into the province is also strictly monitored.
However, Decena said purchase of meat products from any market in the province is safe since no Ebola case was recorded to have affected hog farms in the province so far.
But consumers are advised to always check on the quality of the (meat) products they buy and make sure that the products purchased were locally slaughtered. (JOC)
