Business as usual despite Ebola virus - hog growers

Its business as usual for the country’s hog growers despite the continuing investigation on the presence of the Ebola Reston Virus (ERV), the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) said yesterday.

In an interview with The STAR, NFHFI chairman Rene Eleria assured there has been no reports of any unusual sickness or deaths in the hog industry related to the outbreak of the disease.

He said the local hog industry has been prepared to deal with any widespread disease following the safety measures it has put in place after the outbreak of the Porcine Reproductive Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) last year.

“We are better prepared and already have the safety measures in place,” Eleria assured.

In fact, he pointed out pork prices have been stable at P170 to P180 per kilo as the cost of feed ingredients is also going down.

The hog industry, however, has not yet been given a clean bill of health from visiting representatives of international animal and human health organizations following the surfacing of the ERV last year.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Oganization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) and the International World Animal Health Organization or Organization Internationale de Epizooties (OIE) have sent a team to the Philippines to help local authorities investigate the presence of the ERV and its transmission from animal to animal and from animal to human.

After more than two weeks, the joint team has not yet conclusively found the source of the transmission.

Thus, the two farms – one in Pandi, Bulacan and the other in Manaoag, Pangasinan -originally found to have the presence of ERV continue to be under quarantine.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is now expanding the testing of more hog farms, initially in Luzon, to find out if they have been infected by the ERV.