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  • #31
    Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

    Commentary

    Ebola in Philippine Swine Increases Testing
    Recombinomics Commentary 14:09
    December 15, 2008

    She said the WHO was informed about the Ebola-Reston virus among pigs around the third week of November but the infection was discovered as early as May this year. Laboratory results confirming the presence of Ebola-Reston virus were confirmed only in October

    The above comments indicate the discovery of Ebola in Philippine swine (see updated map)was not due to a lab artifact and was disclosed long after it was initially identified. The announcement was accompanied by comments on human health linked to the Reston strain, since the Reston strain has not been shown to cause disease in humans.

    However, the confirmation of Ebola in swine raises concerns of other strains in other swine. Although the Reston strain was identified in Reston, Virginia, its origin was primates from the Philippines. Thus, finding the Reston strain in Philippine swine is not as unexpected as other strains.

    However, the atypical PPRS in the Philippines has been reported in other countries, including Vietnam and China, and the virus has been found in association with other bacterial or viral infections. In the Philippines, some swine had PPRS, a circovirus, and Ebola.

    In China in 2005, swine deaths were associated with a bacterial infection Streptococcus suis, which was unexpected because the infection had not been previously associated with fatal infections in adult swine or humans, and several humans who had contact with the swine were fatally infected.

    At the time, some media reports attributed the outbreak to Ebola and the reports cited several strains that were in circulation in China, but denied by the government.

    The identification of Reston-Ebola in Philippine swine has lead to the call for more extensive screening of Ebola. In light of the reports from China, such searches should include broadly reactive probes that would not be limited to the Reston strain of Ebola.


    .
    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

      EBOLA-RESTON, PORCINE - PHILIPPINES (04): REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
      ************************************************** ***************
      A ProMED-mail post
      <http://www.promedmail.org>
      ProMED-mail is a program of the
      International Society for Infectious Diseases
      <http://www.isid.org>

      [In response to Pat Doyle's questions in ProMED-mail posting
      20081214.3932, the following FAO (Food & Agriculture Organisation)
      update has been forwarded by Stephen Apatow, for which ProMED-mail is
      grateful. - Mod.AS]

      Date: Mon 15 Dec 2008
      Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), EMPRES (Emergency
      Prevention System) [edited]
      <http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/ebola_111208.html>


      Ebola-Reston virus: disease situation in Philippine swine -- an
      unfolding situation
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      Over the last few weeks, FAO has been engaged with officials at the
      Department of Agriculture in Manila and other national and
      international agencies (World Health Organization, World Organisation
      for Animal Health, US agencies -- Department of Agriculture and
      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Australia's Animal
      Health Laboratory) to better understand the laboratory findings of
      Ebola-Reston virus in pigs. It is the 1st time that this virus, a
      known primate pathogen, has been identified in a food-producing animal.

      This laboratory finding came about after field investigations and
      sample collection was undertaken by the Bureau of Animal Industry
      (BAI), Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, because of
      suspected outbreaks of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
      (PRRS), which had been affecting several swine production areas in
      the Philippines characterized by greater virulence then that
      described decades earlier in North America and Europe. Such increased
      virulence in the PRRS virus (an arterivirus) has also been seen in
      China and Viet Nam recently.

      The increased awareness and investigation, prompted the BAI to send
      samples to a laboratory with experience in PRRS characterization, as
      well as rule out other swine pathogens, such as porcine circovirus,
      classical swine fever (a pestivirus), or Nipah virus (a
      paramyxovirus) using classical and molecular diagnostic laboratory techniques.

      During the laboratory investigations, viral particles and generic
      sequencing results showed that several of the swine samples were
      indeed infected with PRRS virus, circovirus, other agents..., and
      Ebola-Reston. No ebolavirus had ever been found in swine tissues before.

      --
      Communicated by:
      Stephen M Apatow
      Humanitarian Resource Institute
      <s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net>

      [The submitter added the following comment: "Now that we know that
      the pathogen has been isolated in the mixing vessel of the pig
      populations, what new genomic challenges may evolve that might
      present a threat to the international community? -- One thing is
      clear, we need to be on top of this game."

      The FAO-EMPRES website above includes also the following Q & A, where
      subscribers may find useful additional information on the issue:

      - What is Ebola, what is Reston, what is Ebola-Reston?
      - Sudan Ebola virus
      - Tai (Ivory Coast) Ebola virus
      - Bundibugyo (Uganda) Ebola virus
      - And what is Marburg?
      - Hunting for the Ebola reservoirs
      - So what is happening in the Philippines?
      - Does Reston-Ebola cause disease in pigs?
      - Can humans become infected with Reston-Ebola from eating pork?
      - What precautionary measures should be observed throughout the food chain?
      - What about exports and imports?
      - What other animals are known to be infected?

      In order to evaluate the realistic animal and public health
      implications of the recent findings in the 4 Luzon pig farms, a
      scientific report by the investigating laboratory at the Plum Island
      Animal Disease Center, including data on the agent's genotyping and
      its pathogenicity in animal models, is requested.

      According to an APHIS (Animal and Public Health Information System)
      Emerging Disease Notice "Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory
      Syndrome (PRRS) in Vietnam and China" of August 2007, samples of the
      virus from the PRRS outbreak in Viet Nam "were being sent to an
      international laboratory for further testing and characterization;" see
      <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cei/taf/emergingdiseasenotice_files/prrschinavietnam2007.pdf>.

      Detailed results of the said investigations (published or otherwise)
      will be highly appreciated. It will be also interesting to note if
      the samples from Viet Nam included tissues of affected porcines; in
      case affirmative -- were they tested for other disease agents in
      addition to the PRRS virus, and what were the results? - Mod.AS]

      [see also:
      Ebola-Reston, porcine - Philippines (03) 20081214.3932
      Ebola-Reston, porcine - Philippines (02) 20081212.3910
      Ebola-Reston, porcine - Philippines 20081211.3896
      Porcine reprod. & resp. syndrome - Viet Nam (05): RFI 20080802.2362]
      ...................................arn/mj/dk

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

        [Full FAO EMPRES update. See post above for ProMed commentary. IOH]

        EBOLA-RESTON virus in pigs - Disease Situation in Philippine Swine - An Unfolding Situation [FAO (EMPRES)]
        EBOLA-RESTON virus in pigs - Disease Situation in Philippine Swine - An Unfolding Situation

        December 2008 -

        Over the last few weeks, FAO has been engaged with officials at the Department of Agriculture in Manila and other national and international agencies (World Health Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health, US agencies ? Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Australia?s Animal Health Laboratory) to better understand the laboratory findings of Ebola-Reston virus in pigs.


        It is the first time that this virus, a known primate pathogen, has been identified in a food-producing animal.

        This laboratory finding came about after field investigations and sample collection was undertaken by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, because of suspected outbreaks of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) which had been affecting several swine production areas in the Philippines characterized by greater virulence then that described decades earlier in North America and Europe.

        Such increased virulence in the PRRS virus (an arterivirus) has also been seen in China and Viet Nam recently.

        The increased awareness and investigation, prompted the BAI to send samples to a laboratory with experience in PRRS characterization, as well as rule out other swine pathogens, such as porcine circovirus, classical swine fever (a pestivirus), or Nipah virus (a paramyxovirus) using classical and molecular diagnostic laboratory techniques.

        During the laboratory investigations, viral particles and generic sequencing results showed that several of the swine samples were indeed infected with PRRS virus, circovirus, other agents ... and Reston-Ebola.

        No ebolavirus had ever been found in swine tissues before.


        Questions & Answers

        * What is Ebola, what is Reston, what is Ebola-Reston?

        Ebola is the common term for a disease caused by a group of viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus of the family Filoviridae to which humans and other primates are susceptible. Ebola or Ebola haemorrhagic fever is named after the Ebola River Valley, Democratic Republic of the Congo (before known as Za?re), in reference to the area where the first recognized outbreak was reported in 1976.

        Ebola haemorrhagic fever can be fatal.

        In humans it is characterized by fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, generalized muscle and joint pain, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. Fatality rates in humans (those that get the disease and then die from it) can be high, ranging from 50?90%. The cause of death is usually due to organ failure and blood loss. No approved vaccine is available and treatment is supportive care including infusion of intravenous fluids.

        In August 2007, over 200 people became ill with Ebola virus (103 fatally) in the village of Kampungu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The outbreak started after the funerals of two village chiefs, and 217 people in four villages fell ill. The previous recorded outbreak in DRC was in 1995 when 245 people died.

        The mechanisms for the spread of Ebola virus are not fully understood. Non-human primates are believed to be infected directly from a-yet-to be identified natural reservoir. Once there is infection in the monkey, horizontal transmission (as in monkey-to-monkey) can take place after direct contact with infected blood, secretions, organs, semen or urine, or contaminated inanimate objects (contaminated food bowls, cages, etc.). Monkeys are not thought to be the reservoir themselves, based on laboratory research and field findings.

        The route of transmission from animals to humans is unknown. In Africa and Asia, field investigations of the first cases of Ebola infections in humans were linked to contact with wild mammals found dead in the rainforest (gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, forest antelopes, duikers and porcupines) or the simple handling of infected cynomolgus macaques through direct contact with their infected blood or fresh organs.

        Reston (or Reston-Ebola) virus is a filovirus of Asian origin with genetic characteristics similar to those of the virus first identified in the then Za?re. It was discovered in crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) at the Hazleton Laboratories in Reston, Virginia (USA) in 1989, where research monkeys became ill and some died. These monkeys had been imported weeks earlier from the Philippines.

        Two notable differences between Reston-Ebola and other Ebola viruses are known: one, none of the African strains of Ebola shown to cause disease in humans have been found to be transmitted by the air (?airborne?), yet Reston-Ebola is; two, Reston-Ebola has not been shown to affect humans, and is of low fatality in monkeys. Co-infection of Reston-Ebola with another virus, simian haemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV), exacerbates the disease in monkeys, and its fatality rate.

        Six animal caretakers in the 1989 incident seroconverted (developed an immune response as determined by antibody levels specific for the virus). One of the animal caretakers accidentally cut himself while performing a necropsy (post mortem evaluation) on an infected monkey but did not become ill. Seroconversion in humans has also been documented in the Philippines.

        The Reston-Ebola virus was once again introduced through the importation of cynomolgus macaques from the Philippines to the United States in 1990 and 1996 and into Europe in 1992. The Philippines is one of the world?s major sources of cynomolgus macaques often used for important biomedical research.

        Ebola is the common term for a disease caused by a group of viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus of the family Filoviridae to which humans and other primates are susceptible. Ebola or Ebola haemorrhagic fever is named after the Ebola River Valley, Democratic Republic of the Congo (before known as Za?re), in reference to the area where the first recognized outbreak was reported in 1976.

        Sudan Ebola virus
        After the first cases in Za?re (now Democratic Republic of Congo), a second strain of Ebola was found also 1976, among cotton factory workers in Nzara, Sudan. In May 2004, Sudan ebolavirus was reported in Yambio County, Sudan, with five deaths resulting.

        Tai (Ivory Coast) Ebola virus
        In November 1994, a novel Ebola related virus was isolated from two dead chimpanzees in the Tai Forest in C?te d'Ivoire.

        Bundibugyo (Uganda) Ebola virus
        More recently, in November 2007, the Uganda Ministry of Health reported an outbreak of Ebola in the Bundibugyo District, from which this variant takes its name.

        * And what is Marburg?

        Marburg virus was actually the first haemorrhagic fever identified caused by a filovirus. In humans, Marburg haemorrhagic fever is a severe and highly fatal disease. Case fatality rates vary greatly; from 25% in the initial laboratory-associated outbreak in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt am Mein (Germany) to more than 80% in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1998 to 2000. In certain cases (such as those that began in Angola in late 2004), rates can be above 80%. In the outbreak in Germany the virus was shown to have been introduced by the importation of African green (vervet) monkeys (Cercopitheceus aethiops) from Uganda.

        Hunting for the Ebola reservoirs
        Ebola antibodies have been found in free-living rhesus-monkeys, African green monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys and baboons. It is known that chimpanzees, gorillas, rhesus monkeys, vervet monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, newborn mice and guinea pigs can develop clinical illness with Ebola viruses.

        No ebolaviruses were found from samples taken from some 30,000 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods in outbreak regions between 1976 and 1998. Nevertheless, the natural reservoir of the Ebola viruses likely resides in the rain forests of the African continent and Western Pacific, and remains to be identified.

        * So what is happening in the Philippines?

        Medical, veterinary and biological experts require further evaluation of the situation. Testing for the presence of the Ebola-Reston virus in swine populations, animal handlers and wildlife species will be helpful to begin to understand the laboratory findings, how the pigs may have become infected and potential spill over to humans. The research required will take time ? with the earliest results expected in weeks to months. Though it is too early to know, there are no reports of sick or ailing people that have had contact with the pigs according to the Philippine Ministry of Health and the Bureau of Animal Industry.

        While it is true that there was illness and fatalities on the farms where these pigs were bred and raised, other isolated microbes may have been the route cause of the outbreaks and not the Reston-Ebola virus.

        * Does Reston-Ebola cause disease in pigs?

        This remains unknown although it is known that they can become infected. While it is true that there were illness and fatalities on the farms where the Reston-Ebola infected pigs were bred and raised, other isolated microbes may have been the cause of the outbreaks and not the Reston-Ebola virus acting alone. It will be important to separate the different pathogens isolated from the sick or dying pigs from the Philippines and once the different pathogens have been purified, the necessary and specific laboratory tools (called ?reagents?) can be developed to test swine and other animals throughout the Philippines and see how extensive the infection is and undertake humane laboratory controlled studies in previously non-exposed pigs.

        * Can humans become infected with Reston-Ebola from eating pork?

        This too is unknown. To make sweeping statements as to Yes-Risk or No-Risk based on six caretakers exposed to Reston-Ebola at this stage would be premature. The answer requires close collaboration between producers, veterinarians, health officials and market intermediaries. Studies need to be carried out in the commercial swine sectors affected, animal handlers, throughout the market chain and its intermediaries, and among consumers before full advice can be given. Using the specific Reston-Ebola reagents, investigators can retrace marketing and butchering operations to likely consumers and through interviews ask about recent illnesses in their families or close associations, perform blood tests test, and advise them about improved hygiene in general. The planned laboratory studies will also shed valuable and critical information.

        The experience of the animal caretakers in Reston, Virginia, in 1989, gives an insight into the human risk and this particular filovirus ? where there was high exposure, without clinical disease, and a normal immune response.

        * What precautionary measures should be observed throughout the food chain?

        Sick animals, regardless of the cause, should not enter the food chain, nor should carcasses or scraps from sick or dead animals be fed to other animals or disposed of improperly. Veterinary and public health inspectors should ensure that animals destined for slaughter do not have a fever and are clinically healthy; and consumers should be cautious when prices appear too good to be true.

        Handling and preparation of meat should be done in a clean environment (table tops, utensils, knives) and the meat cooked well. The above are all general principles for good hygiene and thorough cooking essential to destroy any bacteria, parasites or viruses that may be present.

        Producers, marketers, butchers, market stall owners must be made aware of the situation through awareness efforts by the health authorities (veterinary and public health) as to the knowns and unknowns of this evolving situation and of their responsibility in the provision of safe food to the consumers, which also include their own families and friends.

        It is not recommended to handle pork meat known to be infected with Reston-Ebola virus, since the true risk of infection and consequences are unknown.

        * What about exports and imports?

        It is important that when countries have an animal health problem (of known or unknown origin), they should self-impose a ban of any exports to their neighbours or trading partners immediately. Though the economic impact to the industry and producers is likely to suffer, their credibility will increase and the safety of their neighbours and trading partners remain. If a country knowingly allows for exports to continue and the disease subsequently spreads regionally or trans-continentally, the economic impact will be far greater in the mid and long term. The credibility of the country and that of any future exports will likely be held in doubt for years or decades to come. Furthermore ? and perhaps more importantly ? should the animal health problem be of a zoonotic nature (disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans) the disaster could be more than just an economic problem.

        * What other animals are known to be infected?

        Naturally-occurring Ebola antibodies have been found in rhesus-monkeys, African green monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys and baboons. Chimpanzees, gorillas, rhesus monkeys, vervet monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, newborn mice and guinea pigs can develop clinical illness.

        Experimentally, rabbits, pigeons and various species of mice, bats, frogs, geckos, snakes, tortoises and arthropods have been infected but did not develop clinical signs. Virus multiplication, however, was recorded in bats, snakes, mice and spiders at different levels.
        -
        <cite cite="http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/ebola_111208.html">Emergency Prevention System for Transboundry Animals and Plant Pest Diseases (EMPRES)</cite>

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

          Reuters AlertNet - Philippines asks FAO to investigate Ebola in pigs
          Philippines asks FAO to investigate Ebola in pigs

          17 Dec 2008 07:32:08 GMT
          Source: Reuters
          MANILA, Dec 17 (Reuters) -

          The Philippines has asked the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for help in stopping the spread of Ebola-Reston virus after an infection was found in some hog farms early this year, an official said on Wednesday.


          The agriculture department has sent requests to the FAO to test an initial 10,000 swine in two quarantined hog farms in northern Luzon island, Davinio Catbagan, director of bureau of animal and industry, said in a statement.

          "We would like to determine the source of the infection," Catbagan said.

          The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it considers the case a "low public health risk" because the Ebola virus strain found in the Philippines was not known to be fatal in humans in the past.

          Catbagan said a team of experts from the FAO and the WHO would also assist in setting up diagnostic and prevention and communications plans.

          The agriculture department said only six of 28 tissue samples from pigs have been found with traces of the Ebola-Reston virus when these were sent for tests at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States in October.

          An additional 94 samples collected from pigs in the affected farms in two provinces have been found to be negative for traces of Ebola-Reston virus when tested at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the Philippines, the statement said.

          On Monday, the Philippines announced the voluntary withdrawal of a shipment of 50,000 tonnes of pork to Singapore after traces of the low pathogenic Ebola-Reston virus were found.

          The shipment was to be the country's first ever pork export.

          The presence of the Ebola-Reston virus in some pigs in two commercial farms and two backyard farms in the country was the first such case anywhere in the world, Caroline-Ann Coulombe, a WHO spokeswoman in Manila, has said.

          The Ebola-Reston virus had been previously detected in some Philippine monkeys.

          (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Dean Yates)
          -
          <cite cite="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAN325485.htm">Reuters AlertNet - Philippines asks FAO to investigate Ebola in pigs</cite>

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

            Philippines Moves to Fight Pig Ebola - WSJ.com
            Philippines Moves to Fight Pig Ebola

            By JONATHAN CHENG

            Global health authorities are preparing an emergency mission to the Philippines after U.S. scientists discovered a strain of the Ebola virus in dead pigs there that had previously only been found in monkeys.


            Unlike more-deadly strains of Ebola virus, health officials say this particular strain, known as the Reston strain, has never caused human illness or death, and it's not immediately clear there is a public-health issue.

            But health officials say it is too early to rule out a possible threat to humans, and expressed concern over the fact that this incident, first revealed in an Oct. 30 teleconference between the Philippine government and U.S. health authorities, wasn't made public until a news conference for local media in Manila last week.


            Farmers gather pigs for slaughter Thursday in Manila. Authorities in the Philippines sought to allay public fears about the spread of the Ebola virus.

            Pigs have served as genetic mixing vessels for viruses that pass from animals to humans, which makes the Philippine discovery significant.

            "When a virus jumps species, in this case from monkeys to pigs, we become concerned, particularly as pigs are much closer to humans than monkeys in their ability to harbour viruses," says Peter Cordingley, Western Pacific spokesman for the World Health Organization in Manila.
            Philippine authorities say they have quarantined affected farms, canceled plans for the country's first official exports of pork, and conducted tests on hog farmers and slaughterhouse workers.

            Authorities say there have been no signs of humans infection in the outbreak. It's unclear whether any infected pigs were sold for consumption. Experts say it could take weeks to determine how the pigs were infected and the threat to humans.

            According to officials at the WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Philippines' Bureau of Animal Industry, pig farmers in three provinces near the capital of Manila began noticing high rates of sickness and death among their livestock as early as May.

            In August, Philippine authorities sent samples from the dead pigs to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York, where scientists detected the presence of several diseases, including a devastating pig virus known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or blue-ear pig disease.

            Weeks later, during the Oct. 30 teleconference, authorities at the Philippines' Department of Agriculture were notified that scientists had further discovered Ebola Reston virus in six of the 28 pig samples sent to the U.S.

            The Philippine government waited until Dec. 10 to make the presence of Ebola Reston virus public, citing concern for the pork industry and a lack of evidence that humans were in any danger.

            Davinio Catbagan, director for the Philippines' Bureau of Animal Industry, said the government first consulted with people in the swine industry and only later notified the Department of Health. Mr. Catbagan said authorities were aware of the public-health importance of the recent discovery, but that the available medical literature didn't suggest any threat to humans.

            The WHO said it learned of the disease through the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in late November.

            Concerns have been deepening across Asia about diseases among stocks of chickens and pigs, including H5N1 avian influenza and blue-ear pig disease. The latest announcement forced the Philippines to abort its first-ever commercial export of pork, which was to be made to Singapore earlier this month.

            According to people at the WHO and the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, known by its French acronym OIE, Philippine authorities decided to go public only after being pressured by those two groups and the FAO. Dr. Bernard Vallat, director-general of the OIE, said it was "not an easy negotiation" to persuade Philippine authorities to go public with the news.
            He said the pigs were most likely killed by another disease, but that the presence of the Ebola Reston virus in pigs should be investigated to assess the risk to humans.

            The Ebola virus comes in five distinct strains, three of which are associated with the high-fatality outbreaks that first appeared in the Congo in 1976. In 1989, scientists discovered what would be known as the Reston strain of the Ebola virus among monkeys imported from the Philippines and kept for research in a Reston, Va., lab. A handful of humans were infected in that case, but only one person showed any symptoms, and fully recovered.

            According to the WHO, the Ebola Reston virus can be identified only by laboratory testing, and anyone eating pork even from healthy pigs should cook the meat thoroughly. Meat from a sick animal should never be eaten.

            According to the FAO, the Ebola Reston virus is transmitted by air, unlike African strains of the virus which are transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids.


            Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com
            <cite cite="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122962795234719065.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">Philippines Moves to Fight Pig Ebola - WSJ.com</cite>

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

              Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo...1219.htm&no=20

              PIA Press Release
              2008/12/19

              Ebola virus strain found in pig farm

              Manaoag, Pangasinan (19 December) -- A 30-hectare piggery farm in barangay Parian was placed under quarantine starting on Thursday as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the dreaded ebola reston virus.

              The move was undertaken after the Tropical Disease Institute of the Philippines (TDIP) examined all the hogs in the Lambino Farm here and found most of its swine were afflicted with ebola reston virus.

              The virus was discovered when specimens of hogs being raised in the Lambino farm, located at the boundary of Manaoag to Mapandan town, were examined by TDIP in a regular field check-up of animals.

              Department of Agriculture Regional Director Cipriano Santiago rushed to the farm Thursday morning along with officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry and Department of Health and municipal health office to check on the farm

              Joining them in the inspection were veterinary officers of Pangasinan and Manaoag town, the municipal agriculture officer and the town police headed by Supt. Mateo Casupang.

              He immediately imposed a quarantine on the farm to ensure that no hog is brought out for sale and no more hogs will come in till the area is declared safe.

              Santiago said this means that the piggery farm would be closely monitored 24 hours a day to ensure that the requirement is strictly followed.

              Santiago later said the ebola reston virus that attacked the swine in the Lambino Farm is a strain that affects only the hogs but not humans, which means, that the matter "is not a concern on public health but on animal health."

              He called on the people not to panic because the meat of such infected animals can be eaten if washed and cooked thoroughly.

              Santiago said that so far, it is only in the Lambino farm in the entire province of Pangasinan where the ebola reston virus was detected.

              Dr. Raymond Veloria, municipal health officer of Manaoag, who was among those who inspected the piggery farm, said based on the findings of the TDIP most of the swine and piglets in the farm were infected by the virus.

              Veloria reported that the farm has 14 sows, 11 boars, 53 growers, 70 weanlings, and 217 piglets for fattening.

              The initial inventory showed there were 62 piglets suffering from diarrhea, he said.

              Veloria added that based on these findings, the Municipal Health Office, together with the Department of Health and the DA, recommended that the farm be quarantined for at least one to two months.

              Veloria said people should not panic because the ebola reston virus is non-pathogenic in humans and the infected piglets do not transmit the disease.

              Saying that ebola virus came from monkeys and first afflicted Africans, like those from Kenya and Congo, Veloria believes an infected person or monkey from those African countries may have carried the virus to the Philippines.

              Veloria revealed that per documentation, the same strain of the virus was also detected in some farms in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. (PIA/PNA) [top]

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12...scovery-report

                RP 'persuaded' to announce Ebola-Reston virus discovery - report


                abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/21/2008 7:28 PM


                International health authorities had to ?negotiate? with Philippine officials to publicly announce that a strain of the Ebola virus was found in some dead pigs in the Philippines, this was revealed in a report published in the Web site of The Wall Street Journal (TWSJ)


                The TWSJ report gave details on the discovery of the Ebola-Reston virus in some samples from dead pigs sent from the Philippines citing sources from the World Health Organization (WHO), Office International des Epizooties (OIE) or World Organization for Animal Health and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

                The TWSJ report said that according to officials of the three international organizations and the Philippines' Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), high rates of sickness and death among livestock were noticed by hog farmers near Manila as early as May.

                Philippine authorities in August reportedly sent samples from the dead pigs to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. The scientists reportedly detected the presence of several diseases, including a devastating pig virus known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), or blue-ear pig disease.

                Weeks later, during a Oct. 30 teleconference, officials of the Philippines? Department of Agriculture were notified that scientists of the US animal disease center ?had further discovered Ebola Reston virus in six of the 28 pig samples sent to the US,? said the TWSJ report.

                The report said the Philippine government only announced on Decenber 10 the presence of the Ebola Reston virus. The report said the Philippine government cited ?concern for the pork industry and a lack of evidence that humans were in any danger.?

                Davinio Catbagan, BAI director, was cited in the TWSJ report to have said that the Philippine government first consulted with people in the swine industry and only later notified the Department of Health. Mr. Catbagan reportedly said authorities were aware of the public-health importance of the recent discovery, but that the available medical literature didn't suggest any threat to humans.

                The WHO said it learned of the disease through the UN FAO in late November, said the report.


                The TWSJ report said that according to people at the WHO and OIE, Philippine authorities decided to go public only after being pressured by WHO, OIE and FAO.

                Dr. Bernard Vallat, OIE director-general, in the TWSJ report was cited to have said that it was "not an easy negotiation" to persuade Philippine authorities to go public with the news.

                Vallat reportedly said the pigs were most likely killed by another disease, but that the presence of the Ebola Reston virus in pigs should be investigated to assess the risk to humans.

                Immediate mission
                International health authorities in response were reported to be preparing an immediate mission to the Philippines after the discovery and also after Philippine authorities asked FAO for help in stopping the spread of Ebola-Reston virus.

                The Philippine agriculture department has sent requests to the FAO to test an initial 10,000 swine in two quarantined hog farms in northern Luzon island, Catbagan said in a statement last week.

                "We would like to determine the source of the infection," Catbagan said.

                Catbagan said a team of experts from the FAO and the WHO would also assist in setting up diagnostic and prevention and communications plans.

                The agriculture department said only six of 28 tissue samples from pigs have been found with traces of the Ebola-Reston strain when these were sent for tests at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States in October.

                An additional 94 samples collected from pigs in the affected farms in two provinces have been found to be negative for traces of Ebola-Reston virus when tested at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the Philippines, the statement said.

                Philippine authorities have said they have quarantined affected farms, canceled plans for the country's first official exports of pork, and conducted tests on hog farmers and slaughterhouse workers of affected farms.

                They said there have been no signs of humans infection in the outbreak. It's unclear whether any infected pigs were sold for consumption. Experts say it could take weeks to determine how the pigs were infected and the threat to humans.


                Last Monday, the Philippines announced the voluntary withdrawal of a shipment of 50,000 tons of pork to Singapore after traces of the low pathogenic Ebola-Reston strain were found.

                The shipment was to be the country's first-ever pork export.

                Genetic mixing vessels
                Health authorities said the ?Reston strain? has never caused human illness or death so far, unlike the more-deadly strains of Ebola virus, according to the report.

                They, however, add that it is too early to rule out a possible threat to humans.

                The WHO, in the TWSJ report, said the Philippine discovery is significant since pigs have served as genetic mixing vessels for viruses that pass from animals to humans.

                "When a virus jumps species, in this case from monkeys to pigs, we become concerned, particularly as pigs are much closer to humans than monkeys in their ability to harbor viruses," said Peter Cordingley, WHO Western Pacific spokesman, in the report.


                The TWSJ report said that the Ebola virus comes in five distinct strains, three of which are associated with the high-fatality outbreaks that first appeared in the Congo in 1976.

                The report said that scientists in 1989 discovered what would be known as the Reston strain of the Ebola virus among monkeys imported from the Philippines and kept for research in a lab in Reston, Virginia in the USA. A handful of humans were reportedly infected in that case, but only one person showed any symptoms, and fully recovered.

                The reports also said that according to WHO, the Ebola-Reston virus can be identified only by laboratory testing, and anyone eating pork even from healthy pigs should cook the meat thoroughly. Meat from a sick animal should never be eaten, said WHO.


                According to the FAO, the Ebola Reston virus is transmitted by air, unlike African strains of the virus which are transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, said the TWSJ report. With a report from Reuters


                as of 12/21/2008 7:28 PM

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                  See the original Wall Street Journal article at post no. 35.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                    Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12...n-discovery-rp

                    WHO, 2 other groups tapped to probe Ebola strain discovery in RP
                    abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/23/2008 11:40 AM

                    The Philippine government is tapping experts from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the World Health Organization to investigate the discovery of a strain of the Ebola virus in some dead pigs in the Philippines.

                    In a statement, the WHO said it will send an expert mission to work with human and animal health experts in the Philippines to further investigate the discovery of Ebola Reston virus in pigs, which was discovered by farmers near Manila as early as May.


                    "Although co-infection in pigs is not unusual, this is the first time globally that an Ebola-Reston virus has been isolated in swine. It is not, however, the first time that the Ebola-Reston virus has been found in the Philippines: it was found in monkeys from the Philippines in outbreaks that occurred in 1989-1990, 1992, and 1996," the WHO said in a press statement.

                    The WHO said the planned FAO/OIE/WHO team will work with Philippine 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."

                    "Until these questions can be answered, the FAO and WHO stressed the importance of carrying out basic good hygiene practices and food handling measures," the WHO said.


                    WHO said an increase in pig mortality on swine farms in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in 2007 and 2008 prompted the Philippine government 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 the Ebola-Reston virus.

                    The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species: Za?re, Sudan, C?te d?Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston. Za?re, Sudan and Bundibugyo species have been associated with large Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks in Africa with high case fatality ratio (25?90%) while C?te d?Ivoire and Reston have not. Reston species can infect humans but no serious illness or death in humans have been reported to date.

                    The Department of Health of the Philippines has reported that initial laboratory tests on animal handlers and slaughterhouse workers who were thought to have come into contact with infected pigs were negative for Ebola Reston infection, and that additional testing is ongoing.

                    The Bureau of Animal Industry 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 ongoing in the Province of Bulacan. PRRS is not transmissible to humans.


                    Ebola viruses are normally transmitted via contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected animal or person. In all situations, even in the absence of identified risks, meat handling and preparation should be done in a clean environment (table top, utensils, 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.

                    Pork from healthy pigs is safe to eat as long as either the fresh meat is cooked properly (i.e. 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.

                    Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be eaten and should not enter the food chain or be given to other animals. Ill animals should be reported to the competent authorities and proper hygiene precautions and protection should be taken when destroying and disposing of sick or dead pigs. The Philippines Department of Agriculture has advised the Philippine public to buy its meat only from National Meat Inspection Services certified sources.

                    As a general rule, proper hygiene and precautionary measures (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.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                      FAONewsroom: First detection of Ebola-Reston virus in pigs
                      First detection of Ebola-Reston virus in pigs

                      23-12-2008

                      Manila/Roma, 23 December 2008 -

                      Following the detection of the Ebola-Reston virus in pigs in the Philippines, FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that the government of the Philippines has requested the three agencies send an expert mission to work with human and animal health experts in the Philippines to further investigate the situation.


                      An increase in pig mortality on swine farms in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in 2007 and 2008 prompted the Government of the Philippines 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 the Ebola-Reston virus.

                      Ebola-Reston in swine
                      Although co-infection in pigs is not unusual, this is the first time globally that an Ebola-Reston virus has been isolated in swine.

                      It is not, however, the first time that the Ebola-Reston virus has been found in the Philippines: it was found in monkeys from the Philippines in outbreaks that occurred in 1989-1990, 1992, and 1996.

                      The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species: Za?re, Sudan, C?te d'Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston.

                      Za?re, Sudan and Bundibugyo species have been associated with large Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks in Africa with high case fatality ratio (25-90%) while C?te d'Ivoire and Reston have not.

                      Reston species can infect humans but no serious illness or death in humans have been reported to date.

                      Since being informed of this event in late November, FAO, OIE and WHO have been making every effort to gain a better understanding of the situation and are working closely with the Philippines Government and local animal and human health experts.

                      The Department of Health of the Philippines has reported that initial laboratory tests on animal handlers and slaughterhouse workers who were thought to have come into contact with infected pigs were negative for Ebola-Reston infection, and that additional testing is ongoing.

                      The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Philippines Department of Agriculture 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 ongoing in the Province of Bucalan.

                      PRRS is not transmissible to humans.

                      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.

                      Basic good hygiene
                      Until these questions can be answered, the FAO and WHO stressed the importance of carrying out basic good hygiene practices and food handling measures.

                      Ebola viruses are normally transmitted via contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected animal or person. In all situations, even in the absence of identified risks, meat handling and preparation should be done in a clean environment (table top, utensils, 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.

                      Pork from healthy pigs is safe to eat as long as either the fresh meat is cooked properly (i.e. 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.

                      Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be eaten and should not enter the food chain or be given to other animals.

                      Ill animals should be reported to the competent authorities and proper hygiene precautions and protection should be taken when destroying and disposing of sick or dead pigs.

                      The Philippines Department of Agriculture has advised the Philippine public to buy its meat only from National Meat Inspection Services certified sources.

                      As a general rule, proper hygiene and precautionary measures (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.
                      -
                      <cite cite="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/9025/icode/">FAONewsroom: First detection of Ebola-Reston virus in pigs</cite>

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                        Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.p...news&Itemid=58

                        DA told: Check pork going to South for Ebola

                        Written by Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter
                        Tuesday, 06 January 2009 22:24

                        DAVAO CITY?The biggest association of business chambers in Mindanao has called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to do extra inspections of all raw and processed pork going to Mindanao to avoid spreading the Ebola Reston virus hitting the piggeries in Luzon.

                        Vicente Lao, president of the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC), told a business forum at the MediSpa at the SM City here Tuesday the DA ?should inspect or look closely again at the shipment of pork from Luzon to Mindanao to avoid contaminating our stock here and causing some problems with the health of the people.?


                        ?I call the attention of the DA about this,? he told Dr. Rafael Mercado, head of the Livestock Division of the regional office of the DA here. Mercado was also a guest at the business forum.

                        He said the concern was raised earlier by the Piggery Association of Mindanao, which disclosed to the MinBC that it has a standing agreement with its counterpart in Pampanga, which supplies most of Luzon and Metro Manila pork needs.

                        ?The agreement involves Mindanao supplying some of the needed volume in raw pork of the Pampanga group and, in turn, allowing the latter to ship back the processed meat to Mindanao,? Lao said.

                        The concern of the Mindanao group was that ?the volume of processed meat shipped back to Mindanao has far exceeded the volume that Mindanao has sent to the Pampanga group.?

                        ?This is the concern of Mindanao, especially after the outbreak of that Ebola [Reston virus among some pigs] in Luzon; and they are afraid there is an attempt of Luzon to sneak here some of its extra volume,? he said. ?The piggery raisers here are especially concerned with the tocino [cured pork] type, because it is still raw meat, although already treated.


                        Mercado has assured the business group that the DA?s National Meat Inspection Commission has not been remiss in its responsibility, ?especially that its chairman, Jean Bacayo, is from Davao City and he would not allow any contamination to happen.?

                        Mercado said the government?s monitoring function would not stop after the meat has passed to the processors. ?There is a government inspection in the ports on the boxes of meat shipments even from processors.? ?But your concern is well taken,? he said.

                        Lao said that although Mindanao has been insulated most of the time from any outbreak of livestock diseases in the Visayas and Luzon, ?Mindanao is not really that protected.?

                        For instance, he called the attention of the department to the ?lot of experimentation among backyard raisers in Luzon, especially on medication, because many inject anything that they believe would make their pigs robust and healthy.?

                        ?The problem again is that these backyard raisers constitute about 80 percent of the pork supply in the country, and only less than 20 percent are accounted by the big meat processors,? he said.

                        ?We would like the DA to look again at the protocols in swine raising,? he said.

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                          UN mission investigates Ebola-Reston outbreak in Philippines - Channelnewsasia.com
                          UN mission investigates Ebola-Reston outbreak in Philippines

                          Posted: 07 January 2009 1536 hrs
                          MANILA :

                          Experts from three UN agencies have arrived in the Philippines to investigate an outbreak of the Ebola-Reston virus at two pig farms north of Manila, the World Health Organisation said Wednesday.


                          Ebola-Reston, which is only found in the Philippines, had been confined to monkeys and the latest outbreak is the first time it has jumped species.

                          According to the WHO, the strain is not dangerous to humans, unlike the four deadly Ebola subtypes found in Africa.

                          The Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health are also represented in the mission.

                          "The fact that this is the first time that the virus has been found outside monkeys, and the first time ever, worldwide, that it has been found in swine, a food-producing animal, makes this mission particularly important," a WHO statement said.

                          It added the case had "potential implications for animal and human health and welfare."

                          The Philippine government quarantined the affected farms in Santo Nino and Pinagpanaan villages and halted pork exports when the virus was first detected in October.

                          The UN team was set to work with its Filipino counterparts over 10 days to establish "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."

                          ''Preliminary results are expected in a few weeks at the earliest," said the statement.

                          Local authorities have been unable to find any sign of the virus among farmhands or slaughterhouse workers who handled the pigs.

                          Ebola-Reston was first detected in 1989 in laboratory monkeys sent from the Philippines to Reston in the United States.

                          - AFP/sf
                          -
                          <cite cite="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/400759/1/.html">Channelnewsasia.com</cite>

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                            "the latest outbreak is the first time it has jumped species"


                            Bush meat -> pork feed -> hogs ebola ?

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                              Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...uzon-hog-farms

                              UN agencies inspect Luzon hog farms

                              By Gabriel Cardinoza, Carmela Reyes
                              Philippine Daily Inquirer
                              First Posted 18:18:00 01/08/2009


                              LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines?Teams from three United Nations agencies on Thursday started investigating cases of Ebola-Reston virus infection of hogs in pig farms in Pangasinan and Bulacan.


                              The teams are composed of animal and human health experts from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organization for Animal Health and World Health Organization.

                              In Pangasinan, William White, senior staff veterinarian of the United States Department of Agriculture, said his team would "examine in detail" the affected farms in the province.

                              Dr. Reildrin Morales, head of the field operations group of the Bureau of Animal Industry, said the experts would visit the farms in Manaoag town to collect samples and to assess if the virus is still present there.

                              "There will be a series of field investigations; there will be sample collections," he said.

                              Another pig farm in Pandi, Bulacan, had been found positive for the Ebola-Reston virus, which, experts said, was being detected for the first time in hogs in the country.


                              The virus was first detected in 1989 in laboratory monkeys sent from the Philippines to Reston, Virginia, in the United States.

                              Boris Pavlin, a WHO epidemiologist, said the virus did not pose any threat to humans.

                              "Even if we found somebody positive, it's very unlikely that he could spread the virus anywhere else. So, we do not feel that there's any ongoing danger [of] the virus being spread [to] the human population as of this time," Pavlin said.


                              In a joint statement distributed to reporters, the departments of agriculture and health said the presence of the Ebola-Reston virus in the country is "predominantly an animal health issue."

                              "The Ebola-Reston virus is one of five Ebola strains, but has no significant risk to humans," it said.

                              It said that since the virus was found in local pigs in October, the DA and the DOH have been conducting laboratory tests on blood and tissue samples collected from pigs and animal handlers from affected farms and slaughterhouses.

                              "All of the samples yielded negative," it said.

                              Morales said they could not tell yet the symptoms in an Ebola-Reston virus-affected pig, saying the samples they submitted to the US for testing was not for the virus.

                              "Ebola is an incidental finding. We do not know how it behaves. We do not know the time frame that it might give to the animals. We do not know if at all it shows medical signs in a pig," he said.

                              White said the pigs were being investigated for a "very severe disease" called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, which is caused by a virus.

                              "Coincidentally, we came across Ebola-Reston. It's there but we do not know what it means," White said.

                              The UN team will work with Filipino counterparts for 10 days.

                              In Bulacan, Felipe Bartolome, provincial veterinary officer, said the experts would start gathering tissue samples at the Win Farm in the village of Sto. Ni?o in Pandi town on Friday.

                              Earlier, Bulacan hog raisers assured that pork from the province was safe and there was no cause for alarm.

                              Lito Hizon, president of Livestock Raisers Association in Pandi, said it was only in one farm where the virus was detected.


                              He said the DA ordered a quarantine and strict monitoring at the farm last month.

                              Bulacan, according to records of the provincial agriculture office, is among the major suppliers of pork to Metro Manila.

                              Aside from Pandi, the towns of Sta. Maria, Bustos, San Miguel and Baliuag and San Jose del Monte City are the top hog raisers in the province.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Phillipines - Hogs Found to Have Ebola Virus

                                Urgent mission to study Philippine ebola outbreak [ABC]
                                Urgent mission to study Philippine ebola outbreak

                                Updated Fri Jan 9, 2009 7:21am AEDT

                                An urgent investigation's underway in the Philippines by UN and World Health Organisation experts after ebola virus was discovered at pig farms in two provinces.


                                Presenter: Corinne Podger
                                Speaker: Dr June Hill, emerging diseases team leader, World Health Organisation, Manila

                                HILL:
                                No, that's certainly something that has been looked at during this investigation and we're not sure what the natural reservoir of Ebola reston virus is. We believe that for some of the other ebola strains, that bats may be the natural reservoir, so the virus continues to circulate around in bats, it then spills over into monkeys, which is what we've seen in Africa, and may be the same situations here when we have the monkey outbreak previously in the Philippines, but exactly how the pigs acquired it here in the Philippines is one of the things that the teams are investigating at the moment.

                                PODGER:
                                Now there is some question mark over whether or not the ebola reston virus can be airborne. Is it possible that it may have transmitted to the pigs in that way?

                                HILL:
                                We don't know, there is no conclusive proof from the previous monkeys that ebola reston can be airborne. Exactly how the pigs acquired it, where they acquired it for, whether it was possible for pigs to spread it between themselves we don't know and that's all part of the investigation.

                                PODGER:
                                Now ebola's greatest strength has always been its biggest weakness. In humans it normally causes death before they have a chance to pass it on. Is there any indication at this stage of how virulent the virus is in the infected pigs in the Philippines?

                                HILL:
                                No, again that's another thing that is under investigation. Our understanding at this moment in time is that the pigs were infected with the ebola virus were also infected with some other pig viruses as well. And so we don't know what the ebola reston virus by itself in pigs, what kind of systems that might cause.

                                PODGER:
                                In the meantime, what kinds of concerns are there for human health, both in terms of exposure to potentially infected animals, but also in terms of food?

                                HILL:
                                In terms of the food, the message is that cooked pork, if it is well cooked, heated properly and cooked thoroughly is safe to consumer. We know that the cooking processes would kill this virus if indeed the virus was there in the pork products. We're also saying that the normal handling practices of raw meat are the best way to protect from this and many other diseases. But consumers here in the Philippines should only purchase meat from certified sellers and that all ill and sick animals should be reported to the authorities and should not be consumed.

                                PODGER:
                                Now obviously, at this stage one would not want to start a panic. But for farmers, what are the signs of infection in case they perhaps have sick animals in their herds that they are aware of?

                                HILL:
                                Right, we don't know exactly what symptoms this virus causes, but what we're seeing in the Philippines in the herds that pigs which tested positive, there was very high mortality in the pigs. The pigs becoming sick fairly quickly displaying symptoms of red skin, and high fever and a variety of other symptoms. So the herds that were shown to be positive to the ebola virus did show fairly dramatic and swift clinical symptoms. The agricultural authorities here are compiling that estimation and we hope at the end of the investigation, we'll be able to make a better description and be able to put those messages out.

                                PODGER:
                                Are you worried?

                                HILL:
                                We certainly believe that this is something that is new, it's unexpected, and it needs to be investigated.
                                -
                                <cite cite="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200901/s2462854.htm">Urgent mission to study Philippine ebola outbreak</cite>

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