Palace allays fears over Ebola Reston virus

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang assured the public on Monday that the Ebola virus that infected some monkeys in an undisclosed research and breeding facility in the country is not a threat to human health.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that according to the Department of Health (DOH), the type of Ebola virus that was recently found is not similar to the strain that spread in Africa.

"Ang klase ng Ebolang ito, ang Ebola Reston, ay dati nang nakita sa bansa at naidokumento ng DOH na hindi nakakapagdulot ng anumang sakit sa tao," Coloma said in a press briefing.

Coloma said the inter-agency Committee on Zoonosis, which was formed by President Aquino in 2011, is working on the Ebola virus case.

The DOH on Saturday confirmed positive cases of Ebola Reston virus among monkeys in an undisclosed facility.

Health Secretary Janette Garin said the ERV may be transmitted to humans, without resulting in illness.

"The threat to human health is likely to be low or none for healthy adults," the DOH said in its report.

The agency said that in order to ensure the safety of the staff in the said facility, blood samples were collected from all employees and were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for antibodies.

The results yielded negative for the Ebola Reston virus, the DOH said.