DA assures Philippines not importing pork from China as group calls for halt in agri imports

The Department of Agriculture(DA) on Wednesday said Wednesday that the Philippines still imposes importation ban on pork and pork products from China amid a reported new type of swine flu from the East Asian country, which has the capability to trigger a pandemic.

The DA gave the assurance as umbrella group of the farming sector called for a suspension of all agricultural imports.

“The DA-BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry) assures the public that the Philippines does not import swine or pork products from China,” the DA said in a statement.

Since last year, the Philippines has been prohibiting pork and pork products importation from China, including Hong Kong and Macau; as well as other countries such as Russia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, Zambia, South Africa, Hungary, Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Vietnam, Romania, and Cambodia amid the outbreak of African swine fever.

US science journal PNAS published a study that a new type of swine flu, named G4, possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans.”

The scientists said G4 genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.

For its part, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said if the DA cannot implement a 100% border inspection, it is suggesting “the immediate suspension of all refrigerated and non-refrigerated agriculture and agri-based imports.”

SINAG also asked what happened to the P2-billion first border examination facilities, which were established across the country early this year.

These facilities were supposed to be set up at the ports of Manila, Batangas, Bataan, Cebu, and Davao to perform test on all imported agricultural products.

“In the era of global pandemic, food safety and public health concerns we urge the government to strictly implement the global standard of Quarantine First Policy,” SINAG said.

Calling for a “quarantine first policy,” the group said: “No 100% inspection at the port of first entry, no unloading of cargoes/containers.”

“Cargoes with insufficient documents would not be processed and would not be released, all expenses incurred would be charged to the importers,” it added.

Technical meeting

Meanwhile, the DA-BAI said that it will host this week a technical meeting with the Philippine Inter-agency Committee on Zoonoses to prepare the framework for managing emerging diseases that affect animals and humans.

Then, the National Task Force on Animal-Borne Diseases (NTFAD), chaired by the DA, led by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, will report appropriate recommendations to President Rodrigo Duterte.

The US study noted that G4 was observed to be “highly infectious,” replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms in ferrets than other viruses.

Tests also showed that any immunity humans gain from exposure to seasonal flu does not provide protection from G4, according to the report.

The study that was conducted in China from 2011 to 2018 revealed that 10.4% of swine workers had already been exposed and as many as 4.4% of the general population also appeared to have antibodies.

With this, the DA-BAI urged the general public to report any unusual pig mortality to their farm veterinarians or to the nearest government veterinary/agricultural office, and to consult a physician when experiencing flu-like symptoms.

The agency strongly recommended that swine farm owners consult their licensed veterinarians to review farm biosafety and biosecurity programs. -MDM, GMA News