by Maria Teresa L. Ungson
TIME Magazine has recently recognized the Philippine “Lechon” as the best pork dish in Asia! And pork is indeed delicious to those who eat this regularly. Since pork is a regular part of the Christian Pinoy’s daily menu, so many hogs have been raised and slaughtered to feed the nation.
With the emergence of Swine Flu, it makes one think that fate can get twisted at times. Although we cannot get the “flu” by eating pork, this strain is airborne. Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge.
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products.
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Global situation
Swine flu has pushed the World Health Organization to raise its pandemic alert level to phase 5 as of April 29, which means that a pandemic is imminent.
It’s the second time in a week that the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level, which ranges from phase 1 (low risk of a pandemic) to phase 6 (a full-blown pandemic is under way).
“The biggest question is, how severe will the pandemic be?” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a news conference in Geneva. “We do not have all the answers right now, but we will get them.”
Chan said the swine flu situation is changing rapidly and the swine flu virus is still “poorly understood.”
Chan called on all governments around the world to “immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plan,” noting that each country is free to make its own pandemic plans — and that many countries have been working on pandemic preparedness for years, thanks to concerns about bird flu (avian flu). “The world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.”
Putting an alert at Phases 5 signals that the virus is becoming increasingly adept at spreading among humans. That move could lead governments to set trade, travel and other restrictions aimed at limiting its spread. Phase 6 is for a full-blown pandemic, characterized by outbreaks in at least two regions of the world. It could take 4-6 months before the first batch of vaccines are available to fight the virus, WHO officials said.
Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan said they would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus amid global fears of a pandemic, an epidemic spread over a large area, either a region or worldwide.
European and U.S. markets bounced back from early losses as pharmaceutical stocks were lifted by expectations that health authorities will increase stockpiles of anti-viral drugs. Stocks of airlines, hotels and other travel-related companies posted sharper losses.
Governments in Asia — with potent memories of previous flu outbreaks — were especially cautious. Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines dusted off thermal scanners used in the 2003 SARS crisis and were checking for signs of fever among passengers from North America. South Korea, India and Indonesia also announced screening.
RP response
Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque has informed the public that there are no reported cases of Swine Flu in the country to date.
As a preventive measure, people were advised to observe proper personal hygiene practices such as handwashing, covering the nose/mouth when coughing, and to go for check-up if one is suffering from symptoms of swine flu.
Moreover, Secretary Duque together with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap have set-up measures to prevent the country from contamination.
A tight watch is in place through the health and agriculture quarantine offices at the airports and ports to check on passengers coming from infected countries. The Department of Agriculture has likewise placed a ban on the entry of swine and its by-products from countries that have flu cases.
Davao situation
Thanks to the good performance of the regional and city animal quarantine offices of the Department of Agriculture, Davao City and the rest of region 11 has remained uncontaminated with Swine Flu. There is a temporary ban on meat coming from Mexico, Canada and the U.S. There were no noted changes in the buying pattern of the public of pork and its by-products. People regionwide still include pork in their daily diet. There is no panic among the residents of Davao relative to the Swine Flu epidemic.
To maintain a healthy economic and commercial livestock sector, the Department of Agriculture XI and its local counterparts have been vigilant in addressing situations that can cause epidemics among the livestock. It is noted that Davao region has and still remains to be FMD free in the country. Even cases of Hog Cholera in Malita, Davao del Sur has been contained and addressed appropriately by the DA.
Blocking transmission
It is in the best interest of both human public health and animal health that transmission of influenza viruses from pigs to people, from people to pigs, from birds to pigs and from pigs to birds be minimized. The following steps are potentially useful to reduce transmission of influenza viruses between pigs and people:
n Influenza virus vaccination of pigs – While the swine influenza virus vaccines used today may not induce sterilizing immunity nor completely eliminate clinical signs of infection, vaccination of pigs can reduce the levels of virus shed by infected animals, and thus reduce the potential for human exposure and zoonotic infections.
n Influenza virus vaccination of swine farm workers – The vaccines produced on a yearly basis for the human population contain only human, not swine, strains of influenza viruses. Nonetheless, these vaccines are likely to provide some level of protection against infection with swine viruses of the same hemagglutinin subtype. Conversely, vaccination of farm workers will reduce the amounts of viruses they shed if infected during human influenza outbreaks, and thereby limit the potential for human influenza virus infection of their pigs.
■ Sick-leave policies – To further reduce the chances for infection of pigs with human influenza viruses, the farm owner should provide sick-leave policies for employees that encourage them to remain away from work when they are suffering from acute respiratory infections. People typically shed influenza viruses for approximately 3-7 days, with the period of peak shedding correlated with the time of most severe clinical illness.
n Ventilation – Ventilation systems in containment production facilities should be designed to minimize re-circulation of air within animal housing rooms. This is important to reduce the exposure of pigs to viruses from other pigs, to reduce their exposure to human influenza viruses, and conversely, to reduce exposure of workers to swine influenza viruses.
n Basic hygiene practices -Workers should change clothes prior to leaving swine barns for office facilities, food breaks or their homes. In addition, hand-to-face contact should be minimized and hand-washing stations should be available throughout the animal housing areas. Influenza viruses spread not just by inhalation of aerosolized virus, but also by eye and nose contact with droplets of respiratory secretions.
