Government advises inspection of pigs prior to slaughter

CEBU, Philippines – With the fiesta season in the Philippines just around the bend, the National Meat Inspection Service has advised that pigs should be brought to accredited slaughter houses where they can undergo inspection before slaughtering.

The NMIS also issued the warning in light of the swine flu virus contamination that already claimed 149 lives in Mexico.

NMIS Director Romeo Capa said households that raise pigs intended for fiesta should consider bringing them to slaughter houses so they can be properly inspected before slaughtering.

Capa said extra- precautionary measures should be observed, considering that a heightened alert on swine flue contamination is already in place. Capa, however, clarified that no case has, so far, been recorded here in the Philippines.

At City Hall, Acting Mayor Michael Rama scheduled a meeting with city health officials to plan for possible responses in case contamination reaches the Philippines and Cebu.

Representatives of the City Health Department, Regional Health Unit, and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation will participate in the meeting. Also parts of the preparations are the agriculture sector, markets, and police.

“We should take precautionary measures, since this is viral. It is better than being caught off guard because, primarily, we are not yet prepared for this,” Rama said.

The city is also considering of building a facility just like the one built in Manila to respond to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Safe meat

Meanwhile, Capa said that despite the flu scare, the public should not be worried with the meat they eat, as long as they are bought from accredited meat establishments with meat inspection certificates. To be sure, the meat should be cooked properly.

With the best roasted pig believed to come from Cebu, Capa recommended that pig growers should check the health of their hogs regularly. Symptoms like loss of appetite and high body temperature must not be ignored.

A staff of Alejo’s Lechon, a local seller of roasted pig, said that their sales have not gone down despite reports of swine flu because they make sure that their pigs are properly inspected and cooked.

Capa said pork meat sold in Cebu and in the whole Region 7 are locally produced and do not come from countries that are contaminated with the virus such as Mexico and United States.

Capa said ports and other means of entrance of imported are also being strictly checked.

No reason to panic

Bureau of Quarantine Regional Director Emmanuel Labella yesterday asked the public not to panic because the bureau would ensure that the contamination will not enter the region.

Considering that the virus gets transmitted more through human-to-human interaction, what the public should do, Labella said, is to take safety precaution such as washing hands and covering the mouth when coughing. He also urged that shaking of hands and kissing, especially in public, be limited.

Labella said these are the same precautionary measures they recommended during the avian flu outbreak.

The Department of Health also advised that those with fever, cough, colds and sore throat must immediately submit themselves to medical check-up.

The World Health Organization said respiratory distress is also one of the major complications of contamination by the swine flu virus. - AJ A. de la Torre and Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)