Transmission electron micrograph of the Ebola virus. The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), local health and agricultural teams Sunday have started slaughtering, burning and burying roughly 6,500 hogs at a farm in Pandi, Bulacan in Central Luzon on Sunday after three farm workers became infected with Reston ebolavirus (ERV) of the virus group Ebola , as a precautionary measure and to protect the local livestock industry. But according to Dr. Eric Tayag, the 56-man team's five captive bolts used in stunning the pigs malfunctioned, for which reason, they decided use instead .32 caliber pistols . "We need to finish this off because sometimes it rains," he said. But due to other problems, 12 policemen were ordered to use instead .22 caliber guns for 80-120 kilograms pigs. The pig depopulation in the Pandi farm has reached 1,237 Tuesday amid strong rains as schedules have been set from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Cecilia Yacob, head of the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office, said. Monday's culling was witnessed by representatives from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), animal welfare observers, Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza and Pandi Mayor Roberto Oca. The slaughter has been estimated to cost 16 million Philippine pesos (₱), which include hog farm owners' compensation and the cost of culling for five to seven days. A polymerase chain reaction test to check the virus' presence was conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control (US-CDC) to verify ongoing transmission. "Of 160 pig blood samples that were positive for antibodies, 133 came from Bulacan and 27 from Pangasinan as reported by RITM. Those from Bulacan were traced to pigs at different age groups while those in Pangasinan were found in sows and just one piglet. This means that there is on going viral transmission in Bulacan but past infection with recovery was the case in Pangasinan,” Yap explained. The agriculture officials earlier announced that the depopulation will be carried out in a "humane" manner, following current Office international des épizooties (OIE) procedures that ensure protection of animal welfare in the Bulacan farm. According to Philippine Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque , the quarantine of the hog farm in Palauig, Manaoag, Pangasinan has been lifted after finding no traces of viral transmission. According to Yap, test results conducted by a joint mission of FAO, the World Animal Health Organization , WHO and their local counterparts, reveal that viral transmission continues to exist in Pandi hog farms, which is only 0.5\% of the 13 million pigs raised throughout the country. DOH officials also say a pig farm worker in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija , who had no direct contact with sick hogs, has tested positive for Immunoglobulin G antibodies against the Reston ebolavirus, which is non-lethal, unlike the Zaïre, Bundibugyo, Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan strains, according to FAO. "Ebola Reston poses a low risk to human health at this time," said DOH Secretary Dr. Duque. "147 human samples have been tested for Ebola, but only six have tested positive. But stay away from kilawin , and half-cooked pork," he added. The laboratory tests of 147 blood samples from workers in the affected areas were conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the US-CDC. RITM has also reported that "1039 pig blood samples collected by the expert mission yielded negative results on antigen tests ," the DOH said. Both the DA and DOH officials have decided to expand the scope of the testing for the Reston ebolavirus by inspecting and monitoring hog farms in the whole of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Southern Luzon and Pangasinan province after the culling of the 6,500 pigs. "In six months we might be finished testing Regions 3 and 4 depending on the assurance of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention [in Atlanta, Georgia, USA] to give test kits. In Region 3 alone, the government would need to test farms in 566 villages that would require around 36,000 kits, but the country only has 10,000 kits" Mr. Catbagan said. "The expanded tests will cover the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales in Central Luzon, and Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon in Calabarzon," Mr. Catbagan added. Mr. Catbagan has assured infected hog farm owners in Pandi they would be properly indemnified after the country's first large-scale animal depopulation process. "We are finalizing the indemnification contract. But we will make sure the indemnification would not be open to abuse," he said. Fatteners and piglets cost an average of ₱3,000-4,000 per head, boars cost ₱25,000-30,000, and sows cost ₱14,000-15,000. Intensively farmed pigs in batch pens Juan Lubroth, senior officer of the Infectious Disease Group of FAO’s Animal Health Service, has arrived on Wednesday to discuss in detail with government officials how the agency can support in the wider surveillance. The DA and DOH officials and other government agencies met last Thursday to discuss and finalize the procedure in the burning of 6,500 pigs in Pandi, Bulacan. "The Bureau of Animal Industry and the provincial government of Bulacan, experts carrying out the ₱500,000 five-day depopulation would observe three guidelines, namely: the main disposal, water safety, and environment protection. The depopulation process will involve stunning the pigs unconscious, burning them in a 6-foot deep pit, then burying them at the site. We want to make sure that our means would not violate the Animal Welfare Act. We are also ensuring that there would be no seepage," Governor Mendoza explained. "Local authorities have decided to use electric prods and a ₱70,000 captive bolt pistol with a blunt rod to stun the 6,000 pigs in Pandi, prior to slaughter burning using rice hulls before burying them in a pit dug inside the hog farm," said Dr. Davinio Catbagan. "About 40 health workers — clad in special hog mask suits and are tasked to facilitate the depopulation — would then dump the pigs into 10 30x30-foot pits that can accommodate 600 pigs each. The pits are located some 30 feet from the infected pig farm," said Mr Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Centre. "The cull could take up to seven days to complete," Mr Tayag added. A truckload of disinfectants was prepared amid rice husks to be used in the burning. Meanwhile, at the 18th hog farmers convention, which was launched on Monday at Club Filipino , the president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Albert R. T. Lim, Jr., said hog farmers have feared the effects of Reston ebolavirus virus on industry, since hog exports were banned due to the outbreak. "We are also apprehensive that if we keep on talking about this thing, some people might just misconstrue or misunderstand what they are talking about and people might get scared," Lim said. The government has spent about ₱10 million to maintain the two quarantined hog farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan. "Anyway, we always have our hog producers in Mindanao to supply Luzon if necessary. I am more concerned about our exports although the Ebola scare also somewhat affected local demand," Lim said. Amid the nationwide ERV scare and probe, local authorities have seized more than 200 kilograms of rotten pork meat at a local market in Pasay City Wednesday. Barangay officials in Maricaban district have intercepted the banned ‘hot meat’ and arrested Roberto Clet and Rafael Fruelda, who were indicted under the "Consumer Act of the Philippines." The statute punishes the illegal sale of unsafe products like double-dead meat with penalty of ₱1,000 to ₱10,000 and not less than six-months but not more than five years of imprisonment. Transmission electron micrograph of the Ebola virus. Local police has also arrested four vendors and seized their 3,000 kilos of "botcha" (rotten pork meat or "double dead meat") at MC Market in Balintawak, Quezon City Wednesday evening, and allegedly delivered from Bulacan. The four suspects were charged for violation of the Consumer Act of the Philippines and Republic Act 9296 or the Meat Inspection Code. In December, international experts initially probed outbreak among Philippine pigs, wherein about 6,000 pigs at Pandi and Talavera farms were tested for the Reston ebolavirus. "There is no salmonella outbreak in Eastern Visayas , Region 8, said Dr. Archie Lluz, Chief of Regional Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture in the region. But hog specimens from Leyte and Babatngon , where 270 swine deaths and cases of sick pigs were reported, were examined by lab tests. The results revealed cutaneous "Pasteurella hemolytica" , a type of bacterial infection which causes swine deaths due to loss of appetite, dehydration, fever and diarrhea. According to the DA, sick pigs had been culled from Babatngon, Tacloban City, Alangalang, Santa Fe, Palo, Pastrana, Dagami, Burauen, Tabontabon, Lapaz, Mayorga, and Abuyog in Leyte ; Sogod in Southern Leyte ; Catbalogan, Calbiga, Daram, and Santa Rita in Samar ; and Lope de Vega in Northern Samar . Swine infections have spread to 18 towns and one city in Eastern Visayas . The Reston ebolavirus is suspected to be a subtype of the Ebola virus or a new filovirus of Asian origin. It was first discovered in crab-eating macaques from the Philippines at a laboratory in Reston , Virginia. The same lab then recorded an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever among monkeys imported from the Philippines in 1990. The Reston ebolavirus strain was discovered among monkeys in the Philippines in 1996, and in Italy in 1992. In January 1997, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered the immediate slaughter of some 600 monkeys in Ferlite, a breeding farm in Laguna , to prevent an outbreak of Reston ebolavirus.
Transmission electron micrograph of the Ebola virus. The Philippine (DA), local health and agricultural teams Sunday have started roughly 6,500 hogs at a farm in , in on Sunday after three farm workers became infected with (ERV) of the virus group , as a precautionary measure and to protect the local livestock industry. But according to Dr. Eric Tayag, the 56-man team's five captive bolts used in stunning the pigs malfunctioned, for which reason, they decided use instead . "We need to finish this off because sometimes it rains," he said. But due to other problems, 12 policemen were ordered to use instead guns for 80-120 kilograms pigs. The pig depopulation in the Pandi farm has reached 1,237 Tuesday amid strong rains as schedules have been set from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Cecilia Yacob, head of the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office, said. Monday's culling was witnessed by representatives from the (FAO), the (WHO), animal welfare observers, Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza and Pandi Mayor Roberto Oca. The slaughter has been estimated to cost 16 million (₱), which include hog farm owners' compensation and the cost of culling for five to seven days. A test to check the virus' presence was conducted by the (US-CDC) to verify ongoing transmission. "Of 160 pig blood samples that were positive for antibodies, 133 came from Bulacan and 27 from Pangasinan as reported by RITM. Those from Bulacan were traced to pigs at different age groups while those in Pangasinan were found in sows and just one piglet. This means that there is on going viral transmission in Bulacan but past infection with recovery was the case in Pangasinan,” Yap explained. The agriculture officials earlier announced that the will be carried out in a "humane" manner, following current (OIE) procedures that ensure protection of animal welfare in the Bulacan farm. According to (DOH) Secretary , the quarantine of the hog farm in Palauig, has been lifted after finding no traces of viral transmission. According to Yap, test results conducted by a joint mission of FAO, the , WHO and their local counterparts, reveal that viral transmission continues to exist in Pandi hog farms, which is only 0.5\% of the 13 million pigs raised throughout the country. DOH officials also say a pig farm worker in in , who had no direct contact with sick hogs, has tested positive for against the Reston ebolavirus, which is non-lethal, unlike the , , and strains, according to FAO. "Ebola Reston poses a low risk to human health at this time," said DOH Secretary Dr. Duque. "147 human samples have been tested for Ebola, but only six have tested positive. But stay away from , and half-cooked pork," he added. The laboratory tests of 147 blood samples from workers in the affected areas were conducted by the (RITM) and the US-CDC. RITM has also reported that "1039 pig blood samples collected by the expert mission yielded negative results on ," the DOH said. Both the DA and DOH officials have decided to expand the scope of the testing for the Reston ebolavirus by inspecting and monitoring hog farms in the whole of , , and province after the culling of the 6,500 pigs. "In six months we might be finished testing Regions 3 and 4 depending on the assurance of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention [in , USA] to give test kits. In Region 3 alone, the government would need to test farms in 566 villages that would require around 36,000 kits, but the country only has 10,000 kits" Mr. Catbagan said. "The expanded tests will cover the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales in Central Luzon, and Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon in Calabarzon," Mr. Catbagan added. Mr. Catbagan has assured infected hog farm owners in Pandi they would be properly indemnified after the country's first large-scale animal depopulation process. "We are finalizing the indemnification contract. But we will make sure the indemnification would not be open to abuse," he said. Fatteners and piglets cost an average of ₱3,000-4,000 per head, boars cost ₱25,000-30,000, and sows cost ₱14,000-15,000. in batch pens Juan Lubroth, senior officer of the Group of FAO’s Animal Health Service, has arrived on Wednesday to discuss in detail with government officials how the agency can support in the wider surveillance. The DA and DOH officials and other government agencies met last Thursday to discuss and finalize the procedure in the burning of 6,500 pigs in Pandi, Bulacan. "The Bureau of Animal Industry and the provincial government of Bulacan, experts carrying out the ₱500,000 five-day depopulation would observe three guidelines, namely: the main disposal, water safety, and environment protection. The depopulation process will involve the pigs unconscious, burning them in a 6-foot deep pit, then burying them at the site. We want to make sure that our means would not violate the Animal Welfare Act. We are also ensuring that there would be no seepage," Governor Mendoza explained. "Local authorities have decided to use and a ₱70,000 with a blunt rod to the 6,000 pigs in Pandi, prior to burning using rice hulls before burying them in a pit dug inside the hog farm," said Dr. Davinio Catbagan. "About 40 health workers — clad in special hog mask suits and are tasked to facilitate the depopulation — would then dump the pigs into 10 30x30-foot pits that can accommodate 600 pigs each. The pits are located some 30 feet from the infected pig farm," said Mr Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Centre. "The cull could take up to seven days to complete," Mr Tayag added. A truckload of disinfectants was prepared amid to be used in the burning. Meanwhile, at the 18th hog farmers convention, which was launched on Monday at , the president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Albert R. T. Lim, Jr., said hog farmers have feared the effects of Reston ebolavirus virus on industry, since hog exports were banned due to the outbreak. "We are also apprehensive that if we keep on talking about this thing, some people might just misconstrue or misunderstand what they are talking about and people might get scared," Lim said. The government has spent about ₱10 million to maintain the two hog farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan. "Anyway, we always have our hog producers in Mindanao to supply Luzon if necessary. I am more concerned about our exports although the Ebola scare also somewhat affected local demand," Lim said. Amid the nationwide ERV scare and probe, local authorities have seized more than 200 of rotten pork meat at a local market in Wednesday. officials in Maricaban district have intercepted the banned ‘hot meat’ and arrested Roberto Clet and Rafael Fruelda, who were indicted under the "Consumer Act of the Philippines." The statute punishes the illegal sale of unsafe products like double-dead meat with penalty of ₱1,000 to ₱10,000 and not less than six-months but not more than five years of imprisonment. Transmission electron micrograph of the Ebola virus. Local police has also arrested four vendors and seized their 3,000 kilos of "botcha" (rotten pork meat or "double dead meat") at MC Market in , Wednesday evening, and allegedly delivered from Bulacan. The four suspects were charged for violation of the Consumer Act of the Philippines and Republic Act 9296 or the Meat Inspection Code. In December, international experts initially probed outbreak among Philippine pigs, wherein about 6,000 pigs at Pandi and farms were tested for the Reston ebolavirus. "There is no outbreak in , Region 8, said Dr. Archie Lluz, Chief of Regional Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture in the region. But hog specimens from and , where 270 swine deaths and cases of sick pigs were reported, were examined by lab tests. The results revealed cutaneous , a type of bacterial infection which causes swine deaths due to loss of appetite, dehydration, fever and diarrhea. According to the DA, sick pigs had been culled from Babatngon, Tacloban City, Alangalang, Santa Fe, Palo, Pastrana, Dagami, Burauen, Tabontabon, Lapaz, Mayorga, and Abuyog in ; Sogod in ; Catbalogan, Calbiga, Daram, and Santa Rita in ; and Lope de Vega in . Swine infections have spread to 18 towns and one city in . The Reston ebolavirus is suspected to be a subtype of the Ebola virus or a new filovirus of Asian origin. It was first discovered in from the Philippines at a laboratory in , Virginia. The same lab then recorded an outbreak of among monkeys imported from the Philippines in 1990. The Reston ebolavirus strain was discovered among monkeys in the Philippines in 1996, and in Italy in 1992. In January 1997, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered the immediate slaughter of some 600 monkeys in Ferlite, a breeding farm in , to prevent an outbreak of Reston ebolavirus.
D
Department of Agriculture
D
slaughtering, burning and burying
R
Pandi, Bulacan in Central Luzon
, in
D
Reston ebolavirus
D
Ebola
D
.32 caliber pistols
D
.22 caliber
D
Food and Agricultural Organization
D
World Health Organization
D
Philippine pesos
D
polymerase chain reaction
D
United States Centers for Disease Control
D
depopulation
D
Office international des épizooties
D
Philippine Department of Health
D
Francisco Duque
D
Manaoag, Pangasinan
D
World Animal Health Organization
R
Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija
in
D
Immunoglobulin G antibodies
R
Zaïre, Bundibugyo, Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan
, , and
D
kilawin
D
Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
D
antigen tests
R
Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Southern Luzon and Pangasinan
, , and
R
Atlanta, Georgia,
,
D
Intensively farmed pigs
D
Infectious Disease
D
stunning
D
electric prods
D
captive bolt pistol
D
stun
D
slaughter
D
rice husks
D
Club Filipino
D
quarantined
D
kilograms
R
Pasay City Wednesday. Barangay
Wednesday.
R
Balintawak, Quezon City
,
D
Talavera
R
salmonella outbreak in Eastern Visayas
outbreak in
R
Leyte and Babatngon
and
D
"Pasteurella hemolytica"
D
Leyte
D
Southern Leyte
D
Samar
D
Northern Samar
D
Eastern Visayas
D
crab-eating macaques
D
Reston
D
viral hemorrhagic fever
D
Laguna