RP’s Ebola-virus ‘brand’ sets

Sunday, January 11, 2009

By Paul M. Icamina, Special Reports Editor THE discovery is disturbing: pork is one of the world’s most popular meats—though not among Muslims and Jews—and swine infected with a virus makes for a potentially alarming food on the table. Pork is a major human food and the Ebola-Reston virus detected in Philippine swine prompted international food, animal and health experts to see for themselves the situation here. The Ebola-Reston virus— detected in October in pigs from two commercial farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan— is not harmful to humans but it has shown in an earlier outbreak 20 years ago to be fatal to monkeys, a distant human cousin. This is the first time the virus has jumped species and the first time ever anywhere in the world that it has been detected in a major food source that is closer than most to humans in the food chain. At this point, given the little knowledge about the virus, “it is more an animal than a human health issue,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd told The Manila Times. “While there are potential public health implications, one can’t go beyond what the evidence shows.” That is, the Ebola-Reston virus that affected laboratory monkeys from Laguna in the 1990s infected 25 people but they did not get ill; one handler got sick from what was probably an unrelated cause and he recovered quickly. The Department of Agriculture (DA) says it is not a public health issue but a veterinary one, adding the Ebola-Reston strain “does not pose a significant public health risk.” Humans can get the virus, but it does not cause illness, the Department of Health (DOH) said in turn. The concern this time is that the virus has been detected in food-producing swine. More worrisome is the possibility that hogs are so close to humans in the food chain that the virus may eventually infect humans. Duque cautions there is very inadequate evidence to make definite conclusions now. “Anything is possible,” he said. “We want to make sure, to know more about the virus which is unique to the Philippines.” “We don’t go overboard, nor should we assume a laid-back, complacent attitude,” he said. “It’s a tightrope [and] we have to look at the matter closely.” “We can’t afford a cavalier attitude,” he added. “We are concerned but tempered against an epidemic of misinformation that is more dangerous. We have to look at the matter closely.” The matter is “open-ended,” he said, adding that’s why the international experts have been invited to look at the matter closely. “Not really because of the potential threat to humans but because of the information, the scholastic, the very high research value.” “All systems are in place to prevent public transmission. Our preparedness for SARS is now helping us adequately respond to emergencies,” Duque said in reference to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 caused by the SARS coronavirus. “We are confident of our capability to test for the [Ebola-Reston] virus,” he said, citing facilities at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). The RITM said 94 percent of blood samples of hogs from affected farms tested negative for Ebola-Reston. Some 42 people who had close contact with the pigs also tested negative. Cautious approach “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—especially considering the potential implications for animal and human health and welfare,” said a statement this week from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The FAO, OIE and WHO, upon the invitation of the government, are here on a 10-day mission that started on Monday. They are conducting field and laboratory investigation on the source of the virus, its transmission, virulence and natural habitat. The aim is to provide appropriate guidance for animal and human health protection—although Ebola-Reston has not been found to be dangerous to humans. Calling it an “unfolding situation,” FAO said other microorganisms isolated from sick and dying swine—rather than the Ebola-Reston virus—may have been the cause of elevated mortality. Some 22 foreign epidemiologists, laboratory specialists, veterinarians, food safety and public health and risk communication experts are working closely with agriculture and health authorities. Preliminary results, which will guide further investigations, are expected in a few weeks at the earliest. In a cautious approach to what FAO calls an “evolving situation,” the United Nations agency stressed it is still not known whether humans can be infected. “To make sweeping statements as to Yes-Risk or No-Risk based on six caretakers exposed to Ebola-Reston at this stage would be premature,” it said in a statement. “The answer requires close collaboration between producers, veteri-narians, 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.”