6,000 'Ebola' hogs to be slaughtered

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to widen its monitoring and surveillance of hog farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan after a joint investigation team confirmed ongoing transmission of the Ebola Reston Virus (ERV) among 6,000 hogs in a farm in Pandi, Bulacan.

The DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) will immediately “depopulate” or slaughter the entire hog stock of the affected farm to prevent further transmission.

BAI director Davinio Catabagan said the slaughter would be done humanely and would follow World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) procedures.

The carcasses would be burned and buried within the premises of the farm.

International observers would monitor the “depopulation” process.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap announced this yesterday during a joint press conference with the Department of Health, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Epidemiology Center, the BAI and the OIE.

Following the completion of tests done by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention on pig and human samples collected at the start of the ERV investigation, it was revealed that there is an ongoing transmission of the ERV in the Pandi, Bulacan farm, while the Manaog, Pangasinan farm has finally been cleared of further transmission and its quarantine lifted.

Thus, while the Bulacan farm’s stock would be destroyed, the Pangasinan farm has been given clearance to resume commercial operation.

After the DA slaughters the 6,000 hogs, Yap said the DA-BAI would widen its monitoring and surveillance of other hog farms in the two provinces to test for further ERV transmission.

He appealed to other hog farmers to closely monitor their stocks for any sign of sickness and to immediately report such to proper authorities.

“We don’t want them hiding such incidences,” Yap said.

He assured the farm owners that the government is prepared to indemnify the affected farm in Pandi, Bulacan and any other farm that may be found infected.

Yap, however, stressed that the government would draw up the proper process and guidelines for the indemnification process.

“What we don’t want is for the hog farmers to abuse the process,” he said, adding that the government would take steps to help the operators of the Bulacan farm and any other farms affected by the ERV to eventually recover and resume operations.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also assured the public that the ERV strain does not cause significant risk to the human population.

Hog farm and slaughterhouse personnel who were earlier detected with antibodies to the ERV have been asked to continue self-monitoring even as they are free to go about their daily routine without restriction.

The joint investigation started Jan. 5 this year.

A total of 26 people have been found to have been exposed to and have developed antigens to the ERV.