Thursday, December 25, 2008 Foreign experts to study ebola in RP
A TEAM of international health experts will be dispatched to the Philippines to look into the cases of ebola reston virus that infected several swine farms in the country.
The experts to be composed of representatives from the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and World Health Organization (WHO) will conduct laboratory tests and identify the possible source of the virus.
The Department of Health (DOH) had asked the help of the three agencies to do the study.
"The planned joint FAO/OIE/WHO team will work with country counterparts to address, through field and laboratory investigation, important questions as to the source of the virus, its transmission, its virulence and its natural habitat, in order to provide appropriate guidance for animal and human health protection," said FAO in a statement.
An increase in pig mortality on swine farms in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in 2007 and 2008 prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to initiate laboratory investigations.
Samples taken from ill pigs in May, June, and September 2008 were sent to international reference laboratories, which confirmed in late October that the pigs were infected with a highly virulent strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) as well as ebola.
"While it was noted that co-infection in pigs is not unusual, this is the first time globally that an ebola reston virus has been isolated in swine," said the international groups.
It is the first time that ebola has been found in the Philippines. It was found in monkeys from the Philippines in outbreaks that occurred in 1989-1990, 1992, and 1996.
Ebola belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species, namely: Zaire, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, Bundibugyo, and Reston.
Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo species have been associated with large ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks in Africa with high case fatality ratio (25-90 percent) while Côte d'Ivoire and Reston have not. Reston species can infect humans but no serious illness or death in humans has been reported to date.
The virus is normally transmitted via contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected animal or person.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the DA, has notified the OIE that all infected animals were destroyed and buried or burned, the infected premises and establishments have been disinfected, and the affected areas are under strict quarantine and movement control.
Vaccination of swine against PRRS is also ongoing in the province of Bulacan. PRRS is not transmissible to humans.
Since there is no definite answer yet on the real source of ebola, FAO and WHO advised the public to practice basic good hygiene and food handling measures.
Meat handling and preparation should be done in a clean environment (table top, utensils and knives), and meat handlers should follow good personal hygiene practices (e.g. clean hands, clean protective clothing). In general, hands should be regularly washed while handling raw meat.
The health experts said "pork from healthy pigs is safe to eat as long as either the fresh meat is cooked properly (for 70°C in all part of the food, so that there is no pink meat and the juices run clear), or, in the case of uncooked processed pork, national safety standards have been met during production, processing, and distribution.
Wearing gloves, goggles and protective clothing should also be exercised when slaughtering or butchering pigs. This applies both to industrial and home-slaughtering of pigs. Children and those not involved in the process of slaughtering should be kept away. (MSN/Sunnex)
