WHO experts to study 'unusual' Ebola cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) is sending its experts to the Philippines to help study the Ebola Reston virus that has infected several hogs in Bulacan, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija.

Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, WHO country representative, said the experts would collaborate with specialists from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the “joint mission.”

“It is kind of an unusual event to discover the Ebola Reston virus in pigs for the first time so the government is taking a big interest in terms of studying and understanding the findings both with respect to animal health and human health issues,” he told reporters.

For unknown reasons, the virus is endemic only in the Philippines. In 1989, 1992 and 1996, some monkeys exported by the country to the United States and Europe were found infected and it is only this year when it was detected among pigs.

Soe gave assurances anew that there is still no human case of Ebola Reston virus so there is no need for the public to panic.

“At the moment we don’t have any human problems but this is what the joint mission would like to find out,” he said.

Ebola Reston is known to have very low pathogenicity, meaning it is not capable of harming its source. There is also no recorded case of human infection.

There are other Ebola strains discovered in Africa – the Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire and Ebola Ivory Coast – which have killed both monkeys and humans in the past.

Soe said the WHO experts would arrive early next year “to collaborate with government partners to understand the discovery of this virus among the pigs and to understand it in terms of having a good prevalence system in animals and among humans.”   

He added that WHO would be “providing technical support in designing and looking at what else to be studied and also provide comment on government plans and approaches.”

“We understand that the DOH and DA are already drafting surveillance plans for both animal and human health,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry has placed on quarantine the farms where the infected pigs are being raised.

The DOH, on the other hand, has urged the public to buy meat marked with the seal of the National Meat Inspection Service because it guarantees the safety of the products. 

It also recommended that pork be cooked well to kill any possible virus. 

The DOH managed to trace 42 animal handlers and butchers who have had close contacts with the infected pigs. The blood samples collected from them tested negative for Ebola Reston.