Pig farm worker infected with Ebola Reston virus - DOH

A pig farm worker has tested positive for antibodies of the Ebola Reston Virus (ERV), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

The strain is different from the Ebola sub-types found in Africa that cause deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans.

Duque told a press conference at the Department of Agriculture (DA) that the farm worker carries the virus’ anti-bodies in his blood, based on initial findings of the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control which has been examining 50 human blood samples for ERV infection.

“Human blood sample tested positive for ERV IgG (immuno globuline-G) antibodies. This means that the person was exposed to ERV more than six months ago and did not get sick. Clinical examination showed that the positive human case remains apparently healthy and claimed no serious illness in the past 12 months,” Duque said.

The man, whose age and identity were not disclosed, is the 26th individual to acquire the ERV virus in the world.

The announcement was made at the conclusion of a WHO-led mission to the Philippines that investigated the viral outbreak in pig farms.

The victim is one of the 50 animal handlers and butchers in two hog farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan from whom blood samples were taken early this month by a joint mission of experts from the DOH, DA, WHO, Food and Agriculture Office and World Organization for Animal Health.

The team was convened last Jan. 5 to investigate the presence of ERV in four pigs in these farms. It is composed of animal and human health experts who have been investigating the presence of ERV in these poultry farms.

For still unknown reasons, ERV is endemic in the Philippines and it was discovered among monkeys exported in the 80’s. It was only this year when the virus was detected among pigs.

The DOH and the DA announced the creation of an ERV Management Team to monitor “unusual pig illness or death” in the country.

While insisting that it is still safe to eat pork, DA Secretary Arthur Yap had urged the public to cook pork thoroughly to kill potential virus. He warned against consuming any “double dead meat.”

Yap said the government would continue with the voluntary export ban of pig and fresh pig products.

He asked those who have information about unusual pig illness or deaths to call the ERV Management Team Hotline at 02-9259999. DA intends to widen the scope of testing for ERV to other farms where this situation will be observed.

One of the foreign experts, Julie Hall of WHO, claimed that the findings “were not surprising but it requires further investigation… so we can see the situation more clearly.”

According to DOH chief epidemiologist Dr. Eric Tayag, it has not yet been established how the victim got infected with ERV.

“The investigation is still going-on. At this time, we cannot reveal any other details. What has not been established is the occurrence of pig-to-pig transmission and source of the infection,” Tayag added.

The investigation is expected to continue in the next couple of months.

Because of the new findings, the DA will continue to keep the two farms in Pandi, Bulacan and in Manaoag, Pangasinan under quarantine.

The DA is also widening the scope of testing of the hog population from the initial two farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan to all other hog farms in Luzon and those in the DA’s existing data base of hogs previously tested for Foot and Mouth Disease, Yap said.

Likewise, the DA has ordered the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) to tighten its monitoring of double dead meat to ensure that no contaminated meat reaches the market.

Yap reiterated that it has been confirmed that thorough cooking of pork eliminates the transmission of any disease.

The DA is also coordinating with local government units to strengthen border controls and will continue to impose a voluntary ban on the export of Philippine pork products.

An increase in pig mortality on swine farms in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in 2007 and 2008 prompted Philippine authorities 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 2008 that the pigs were infected with a highly virulent strain of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) as well as the ERV.

The DA has advised the public to buy meat only from NMIS-certified sources.

As a general rule, proper hygiene and precautionary measures (wearing gloves, goggles and protective clothing) should 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.