Manila to slaughter 6,000 pigs to stop Ebola spread

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

MANILA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines will slaughter 6,000 pigs at a hog farm north of the capital Manila to prevent the spread of the Ebola-Reston virus, health and farm officials said on Monday.

But the government has lifted a quarantine on a second hog farm after tests by experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and the Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed no more signs of the disease.

The country has more than 13 million heads of swine and the discovery of Ebola-Reston on two hog farms north of Manila was isolated, the government said.

"There is ongoing viral transmission in Bulacan ... as a precautionary measure, depopulation will be carried out in the Bulacan farm," Health Secretary Francisco Duque told reporters, referring to the farm just north of Manila.

The government said 6,000 pigs would be killed, burned and buried as experts sought to determine the source of Ebola-Reston in pigs as well as pig-to-pig and from pig-to-human transmission. Duque said 147 human samples have been tested for Ebola, but only six have tested positive. But all six remain healthy, he added.

"Ebola-Reston poses a low risk to human health at this time," Duque said.

It is the first time the virus has been found outside monkeys and the first time it has been found in pigs. The virus had previously jumped from monkeys to humans but this was the first case of a jump from hogs.

The Ebola-Reston virus was found in the Philippines as early as the late 1980s and 25 people were found infected after contact with sick monkeys. But only one developed flu-like symptoms and later recovered.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSMAN392763

[Nagishkaw 510]

The other white meat?

[Ban Hammer 13,332]

another sign of the impending apocalypse

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

another sign of the impending apocalypse

Yep. Next Saturday, about 3:37 AM PST, I figure, give or take a millenia, or two.

[Nagishkaw 510]

The bay of pigs invasion.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

[HAL 9000 96]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

Because Ebola strains have a nasty habit of suffering spontaneous mutations that can change their virulence. Even with Eb-R. :S Scary...

All that pork... gone... makes me want to cry.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

"Ebola-Reston poses a low risk to human health at this time," Duque said.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

Because Ebola strains have a nasty habit of suffering spontaneous mutations that can change their virulence. Even with Eb-R. :S Scary...

All that pork... gone... makes me want to cry.

Ah, ok.

[HAL 9000 96]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

"Ebola-Reston poses a low risk to human health at this time," Duque said.

I get the chills working with standard adenoviruses with no known human pathogenicity. And on the horizon I have in the works one called Pseudorabies which in agricultural terms is known as the cause of Aujesky's disease... nasty swine disease... poor piggies.

[Ban Hammer 13,332]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

as i recall, this one variant is the first (and only) one that is tranmitted airborne.

Edited February 23, 2009 by charles!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't understand....if this virus only results in flu-like symptoms - why are they going to such extreme measures?

as i recall, this one variant is the first (and only) one that is tranmitted airborne.

Ah, ok...that is scary. It's not like HIV where you'd have to have uprotected ####### sex with the pig to get it.

[HAL 9000 96]

Well I am pretty sure one of the reactions from more nasty Ebola (Zaire, Congo, etc) strains is that it causes massive pulmonary edema and the resulting blood droplets in coughed blood are vectors for infecting new victims.

[Ban Hammer 13,332]

Well I am pretty sure one of the reactions from more nasty Ebola (Zaire, Congo, etc) strains is that it causes massive pulmonary edema and the resulting blood droplets in coughed blood are vectors for infecting new victims.

zaire is the nasty one, marburg is one you'd rather catch than it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well I am pretty sure one of the reactions from more nasty Ebola (Zaire, Congo, etc) strains is that it causes massive pulmonary edema and the resulting blood droplets in coughed blood are vectors for infecting new victims.

In my limited understanding of viruses - isn't the objective of a virus is to not kill the host? I realize that some do, but for it's own survival, the longer the host stays alive, the more chanced the virus has in spreading to other hosts.