The Government of the Philippines is conducting contact
tracing
of the 5 individuals who tested positive for
antibodies. In addition, testing
is ongoing for other
people who could have come into contact with sick pigs
on the 2 quarantined farms in the provinces of Bulacan
and
Pangasinan where pigs coinfected with the porcine
respiratory and reproductive
syndrome and ERV were
reported in 2008.
The 2 farms remain under quarantine;
the Philippine
Government is maintaining its voluntary
hold of exports of live pigs as well
as fresh and frozen
pork meat.
The
Government of the Philippines has announced a
combined (Department of Health
and Department of
Agriculture) strategy to limit the animal and human
health risks of ERV and emphasized that local governments,
the
pig farming industry and the public will play
a critical role in the strategy.
Together with its international partners, WHO will continue
to
support the Government of the Philippines in
its efforts to better understand
ERV, its effects on humans
and the measures that need to be taken to reduce
any risks to human health.
WHO web sites on infectious diseases
