January 23, 2009

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the person did not however exhibit any signs of the illness for the past 12 months. The tests, that were done by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicated that person was likely exposed to the Ebola strain more than six months ago.

Duque said the human blood sample has tested positive for ERV IgG antibodies which manifests only when the person has been exposed to ERV more than six months ago. Local and international health experts are currently investigating how the person was exposed to ERV, he said.

The health department also took blood samples from at least 50 possibly exposed individuals in the two quarantined commercial farms in Bulacan and Pangasinan. The DOH has yet to receive the final results of the other blood tests from the CDC.

Experts from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the World Health Organization are in the country to investigate the discovery of a strain of the Ebola virus in some dead pigs in some local farms.

The Philippines had asked help from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health and the World Health Organization to stop the spread of Ebola-Reston virus after an infection was found in some hog farms last year.

The presence of the Ebola-Reston virus in some pigs in two commercial farms and two backyard farms in the country was the first case anywhere in the world.

Duque said that in the past, humans who were exposed to ERV-infected monkeys later tested positive for antibodies and did not get seriously ill. He said the highest risk of exposure occurred with direct contact to blood and other bodily fluids of the infected animals.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, meanwhile, said a voluntary government ban on pork exports is still in effect.

He also ordered to widen the testing scope for ERV to include other farms in Luzon. The secretary noted that the agriculture ministry will be testing 4,000 samples in the database.
 

He added that he has also instructed the National Meat and Inspection Service to set up checkpoints and monitor slaughterhouses and retail stalls for possible "double dead" meat.

 He added that the source of the virus is still being determined and that scientific investigation is still on-going.