The weekend brought some bad news for Philippine agriculture, for Filipino consumers, and basically for anybody in the Philippines. The news actually broke on Friday afternoon. I am actually surprised that it did not get more airtime on the news here, more mention in the papers, etc., because, frankly, it is enough to scare the heck out of you.
Remember a while back when I wrote an article about Ebola Reston being found in a number of pigs in Luzon? Well, that was terrible news, but over the past few days, the news went from terrible to even worse. It was announced on Friday that Ebola Reston has jumped species here in the Philippines. A worker on a hog farm in Luzon has tested positive for Ebola Reston. Yes, that is correct, a human has caught Ebola from a pig. This is the first time in history that Ebola has jumped from a pig to a human.
The testing, which was done in conjunction with WHO (World Health Organization – a part of the United Nations), proved that the man had been infected with Ebola Reston at least 6 months ago. The man is not sick, he is healthy at this time. There is no record that he had any noticeable illness over the last year, so it would appear that the Ebola Reston, while present, was not too harmful him. That is a good sign, but it is still frightening.
One thing we don’t know is how this transfer took place. Was it airborne? Was it through eating pork? Was it by cleaning up the pig pen? Certainly with the man’s close proximity to the swine, there were so many opportunities for such a transfer. If the transfer took place through eating infected pork, that is probably the most frightening possibility, because pork is probably the most widely eaten meat in the country. Should it now be considered dangerous to eat pork?
This episode of pig to human transfer has gotten a lot of coverage in worldwide media too. Some International papers that have covered the story are The Post Chronicle, Associated Press, Reuters, Australia News Network, International Herald Tribune and the Straits Times, among others. There has been Philippine media coverage too, but I feel it has been minimal.
For me, this is a major incident. The United Nations is still studying the implications of Ebola Reston Virus in humans, but so far, Philippine officials are saying that it is safe to eat pork, even if it has Ebola. I feel somewhat isolated from the Virus, because in Mindanao we are an exporter of Pork and Pork from Luzon is generally not making it’s way here. Still, though, it is something to worry about, in my opinion.
I think you are right to be concerned. While right now, there appears not to be a health problem, WHO continues to study it. It is entirely possible that, as more is learned, their opinion will change. Given this case, it is unlikely to change, but chicken and beef sound much better all of a sudden!
My question would be are the Yahoos who run this country smart enought to nip this in the bud or should we start packing now.
Hi Bob,Yes its sure alarming.I am no expert even though i was raised on a farm.I feel though that he would have contracted it by close contact with live animals,which is usually the case with most of these diseases.Usually if meat is well cooked their should be no danger but PI authorities should issue guidelines on this.Another problem though, is this could severely damage Pork exports for the near future as it has become world news.It tends to frighten people from eating Pork full stop.This was the case when the UK had mad cow disease,price plummeted and no one would import our Beef for a few years,regards Chas.
"Should it now be considered dangerous to eat pork?"
There is a reason God said that pigs are not food (unclean).
These were not Jewish laws, but healthful guides to living that He gave us. Noah was not a Jew, yet God instructed him to take into the ark clean animals seven by seven and unclean animals two by two.
Yea I hope it gets better .something like this could hurt the economy for a lot of people ..I like baboy on a stick ..chicken too .. Phil n Jess
The Power of Words
December 26, 2008 by Klaus
Filed under Feature, Klaus
32 Comments
The religious and philosophical writer Joseph Telushkin stressed a couple of years ago: “If you can’t go for 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you have lost control of your tongue!” Joseph Telushkin lectured on the awesome power of words.
Matthew 12:34 says, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks”.
Be consistent, Bob.
I respect your site, Bob and can handle a rebuke. Blogs are the sum of its' bloggers. My comments about pork, I feel, provoke thought among your readers.
Is that not what a blog is? My comments were never intentioned to turn your blog into a religious site. It was one comment.
Yes, it is your site. Everyone has thoughts. my comments were never to confer insult. I felt that the rebuke was uncalled for given the nature of my brief remark about pork in light of the overtly religious nature of some previous posts, which I have taken time to read.
Again, I respect your work here.
Robert, you are so correct. Adam was no Jew either, which dispels the teaching that this law was for the Jews only.
We have lots to talk about once I am on the ground there.
I think I'll engage the parking brake on my mouth !
Hi Bob
Whenever a disease jumps species it is of concern. I will say that if any pork is exported from the Philippines even from Mindanao will be impacted. Just like the beef from the U.S. to Korea that made such headlines a while ago. Judging from the Korean response to accept beef from the U.S. there must have been thousands of Americans getting mad cow disease, of course no one got sick. So a response to ban pork products from the Philippines will be coming if they purchase any pork products from the Philippines.
As far as I know the reason why Jews do not eat pork or certain fish is because they are scavengers and considered unclean.
Reminding me of the obvious, that this not a religious site, was the rebuke. Don't tale anything personal, Bob. I am not walang hiya, and i never resort to insult.
Exchange of ideas: good. Character attacks: bad
Sorry for the off topic, folks. Some people would say i am a decent guy!
Mad cow is from feeding dead cows to cows (cow chow). We have mad deer in Indiana that resulted in penned deer being fed dead cow chow.
That was just in case i made myself look like an ass.
We see cattle being pastured and starving to death on a half hectare where 20 goats would get fat. Pigs need to be fed scraps or grain, which are often not enough. Perhaps the ebola scare will get some people focused on stock that would afford better econony where the cost of feed is concerned.
Hi Bob – Checking all the above + references, it seems like I remember something about missing good opportunities . . . .
Think I have one I shouldn't miss right now! 😆
(btw, I can't donate blood because I ate suspect beef in England during the "mad cow" years – go figure!)
No – those infamous opportunities to keep quiet! 😆
ouch! 🙂
On topic we go — I've noticed that pork consumption in many provincial areas of Luzon consists of locally raised and butchered pigs. Since reporting of the Ebola Reston outbreak is sparse (and virtually non-existent on this side of the pond), I wonder how wide-spread or localized the outbreak is? Relatives back home in Ilocos Norte haven't heard about it and believe their pigs to be safe, joking that the only thing the piglets have to fear is someone wanting young meat. 😯
"They don't know yet how the pigs (which came from 4 different farms in three provinces north of Manila) ended up infected with Ebola, and I don't see anything in the reports that nails down whether these particular pigs were ill (though I'll assume they were, since 1) they were tested, and 2) they note that "an outbreak of diseases" had wiped out entire herds where these pigs originated from). They mention "the animals were also infected with porcine circovirus type 2 and a type of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome similar to that which killed pigs in China and Vietnam during the past two years," which, like the initial Ebola Reston studies in monkeys, may cause pigs to have more severe symptoms (again assuming they were symptomatic) than if they'd been infected with only Ebola Reston alone."
This from scienceblog. Appears that this story first broke on December 11. The disease originated in Asia but as Bob said, was first described in a population of test monkies in Virginia.
If they in fact have the population zero at 4 farms, I would think the source could be determined and extinguished.
Bob,
I think Ebola is some really bad stuff. I'm unsure about the different types but read recently where Ebola can be spread through sweat by just bumping arms with a infected individual, human saliva, human excrement and other ways, seems like really bad stuff.
Out of curiosity, Can it survive in water and alcohol though? I ask because if so it would seemingly spread like wild fire because the public water supply in many parts of PI contains human waste and folks there routinely pass drinking cup around etc. Also, Sense most folks take crowded public transportation with other sweaty folks it seems anything that can be passed through sweat would also become epidemic. Do you know if all Ebola types can be spread through those ways or is it just certain ones?
Justin
When I was there two weeks ago, I was taking the bus from CDO to Valencia. When the bus got to the Bukidnon border, everybody was ordered off the bus (well almost everybody) and had to walk through a solution. (Probably bleach water) Then back on the bus. I thought to myself how stupid because unless your going to sanitize the dirty floors on the bus, it does no good. You just pick it (whatever disease) back up again when you walk back on the bus. Well, I guess they are doing something.
Bob said "…Hoof in Mouth disease."
That's what I have , Bob. It's "foot and mouth disease", highly contagous, viral. Yes, Bukidnon is serious about it. People can't get it but can easily spread it by physical contact.
Kamusta Bob,
Well is good that they will bring in experts to figure this out, I would assume there are experts there in the Philippines as well…I hope. Since this type of agriculture is a big part of the food industry there in the RP.
I had just got off the phone with Rose, and she was telling me she just had pork chops and rice for lunch..and now I read this. I know the pork chops she had today were from pigs they have been raising for her brothers wedding last Sunday. I wonder if she has even heard about this threat yet, I will have to ask her about it.
Rose says they love to put pork chop in ketchup….I was like "oh no, that ruin the taste of the pork chop"….but she says it is yummy. I, myself, only like ketchup on my hamburger and french fries…lol.
Salamat ,
Danny : )
Picked this up by google news:
"The Ebola-Reston subtype was discovered in the United States during an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever among monkeys imported from the Philippines to Reston, Virginia."
This type of virus has not been shown to cause disease in humans who test positive for Ebola-Reston infection or antibodies.
The CDC website said infection with Ebola-Sudan or Ebola-Zaire subtypes is often fatal in humans.
"Based on evidence gathered from outbreaks in the US, the Ebola-Reston virus is highly transmissible by injection or by mucous membrane through the eye."
"It can also be transmitted via respiratory tract exposure to droplets of infected body fluids and tissues from infected animals."
Mayong Buntag Bob from Cebu
I have not had much of a chance to join in lately since I am on vacation in Cebu city right now. As for this Ebola it seems to care more than anything. Like Paul was saying the mad cow scare devastated the beef industry in Europe I know we need to take precautions but watching the traffic here in Cebu city a lot more people will get hit by jeepney drivers than catch Ebola. Biggest problem is the crippling of the export industry before it even gets started. As for switching to something else to eat remember even lettuce coming into the US from Mexico was found to be contaminated.
Excuse me Bob
I should have said Maayong Hapon
Hi Bob,
This seems to be a scary situation. How will this impact the average person in the Philippines? Eating pork products and roast pig is such a big part of Filipino culture. What is the average person to do? I suppose that in the province the best you can do is raise your own livestock or only purchase pork and pigs from people that you know and trust. These are complicated times we live in. There is only so much control you can have in your life in so many aspects.
When I was in the Peace Corps and assigned in Africa I saw first hand what an infectious and pathogenic Ebola strain can do. Take my word people, it isn't pretty and I would be very afraid.