Ebola Reston Virus

Ebola Reston Virus

What is Ebola Reston strain?

Four subtypes of Ebola virus:

• Ebola Zaire
• Ebola Sudan
• Ebola Ivory Coast
• Ebola Reston

The 3 subtypes of Ebola virus have hemorrhagic causing symptoms and Reston is not.

In some other countries Ebola Reston virus was not found even in animal. However in the Philippines in the years 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1996, the Ebola Reston was found among Philippine monkeys. And most recently in 2008, for the first time in the history the virus was found among sick swine in the Philippines.

How do Ebola Viruses affect humans?
The three subtypes of Ebola virus (Zaire, Sudan and Ivory Coast) were dangerous only Reston has mild effect as there’s no concrete evidence that it can significant illness in human being. Reston has mild signs and symptoms with the few infected animal handlers when it was found in the monkeys in the Philippines.

Is pork safe to be eaten?
Yes, it is safe to eat pork provided the meat has been prepared properly and cooked thoroughly. The viruses including Reston can be inactivated with proper cooking of meat. We must all practice proper hygiene and sanitation in our own kitchen. We must handle all food properly starting from the raw material, preparing, cooking, eating and storing them to avoid virus and bacterial infections.

Is it safe to eat pork from sick hugs?
No. It is not safe to eat pork from sick pigs. The meat of these dead sick hugs should not be eaten. They should be buried or burned to avoid the spread of viruses and bacteria. Or else, you should report the instances of sick and dead animals to proper authorities such as Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture for the proper inspection and investigation.

How can we make sure that we are buying safe pork in the market?
The public must be also vigilant about this health issue. To make sure of the safeness of the pork they should buy meat only from meat stalls that are licensed by the proper authorities. The stalls must have the certification from the National Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture and the meat products must have the seal of inspection.

Important measures on how we keep can our food safe:

• We must always keep them clean
• We must wash your hands before handling food and during food preparation
• We must wash and sanitize all surfaces and equipment used for food preparation
• We must protect kitchen areas and food from insects, pests and other animals
• We must always separate raw food and cooked food
• We must separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from cooked food
• We must use separate equipment and utensils such as cutting boards for handling raw food
• We must Store food in containers to avoid contact between raw and prepared foods
• We must always cook food thoroughly
• We must cook food thoroughly especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood
• We must bring foods like soups and stews to boiling to make sure that they have reached 700C.
• We must always make sure that meat juices are clear, not pink.
• We must reheat cooked food thoroughly
• We must keep food at safe temperatures
• We must not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours
• We must refrigerate food promptly
• We must not store food too long even in refrigerator
• We must not thaw food frozen food at room temperature
• We must always use safe water and raw materials