DOH exec says African swine fever no threat to humans

An official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday clarified that the African swine fever has no threat to humans but only to pigs.

"Hindi naapektuhan ang tao diyan, walang human threat. Ang threat niyan ay sa mga baboy," Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said in a phone interview on Unang Balita.

"Kalaunan pag pumasok po 'yang African swine flu virus sa atin, maaapektuhan 'yung baboy siyempre hindi tayo kakain ng baboy, iiwas tayo sa baboy."

According to Tayag, the DOH supports the move of the Department of Agriculture (DA) ordering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop the issuance of import clearances and order the immediate pull-out from the market of processed pork products from countries that have reported cases of African swine fever.

"Marami sa pamilya ang kumakain ng baboy sa bansa, maaapektuhan ang industriya natin kaya kami sinusuportahan namin ang Department of Agriculture at ang ban sa lahat ng uri po ng produkto, bawal po makapasok sa bansa pag galing po 'yan sa mga bansang kasalukuyang nagrereport na may African swine fever," he said.

The FDA earlier expanded the list of countries which are temporarily banned from exporting pork products to the Philippines.

The new FDA advisory now bans the importation of pork from Vietnam, Zambia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Mongolia, Moldova, and Belgium, expanding a DA memorandum order last September that had banned the importation of pork from ASF-hit countries China, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.  —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News