The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Saturday all livestock afflicted with the Query or Q fever have been depopulated and condemned, with surveillance and contact-tracing efforts underway in affected areas.
In the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said the government made this decisive action after samples from imported goats from the United States tested positive for Q fever.
“Noong na-confirm ng series of laboratory tests itong Q fever, doon sa 94 na kambing na naiangkat at nakarating ng Marinduque, iniutos po agad ng ating Kalihim iyong kagyat na depopulation or condemnation noong mga nasabing kambing magmula pa doon sa quarantine areas sa Pampanga
(When it was confirmed that the goats that were imported and brought to Marinduque were positive for Q fever, our Secretary immediately ordered depopulation and condemnation, even for the quarantine areas in Pampanga),” De Mesa said.
He said depopulation was also conducted for all goats and cows in areas falling within the 500-meter radius of the infected site.
“Natapos po iyon kahapon o noong isang araw iyong depopulation noong mga kambing at baka na nandoon sa surveillance area at tuluy-tuloy din naman iyong contact tracing na ginagawa (We finished the depopulation of goats and cows in the surveillance area yesterday or the other day, and contact tracing is continuing),” he added.
The DA is also coordinating with the Department of Health to monitor the health of the people residing in the affected area, especially the farmworkers.
Q fever is a disease caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii, which naturally infects goats, sheep, and cows.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can also get infected by breathing in dust contaminated with infected animal feces, urine, milk, and birth products.
Some of its symptoms in humans are fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle pain.
De Mesa said the DA would place a temporary ban on the import of goats from the US until the disease’s source has been traced.
“Tuluy-tuloy iyong imbestigasyon nitong nangyari para masigurado na hindi mauulit itong paglabas ng Q fever, kasi ito iyong kauna-unahang pagkakataon na na-confirm natin na may Q fever tayo (We will continue our investigation to ensure that this will not happen again because this is the first time that we are confirming a case of Q-fever here),” he said.
READ: DA-BAI confirms PH’s 1st Q fever cases in imported goats from the US
The imported goats arrived in the Philippines on Jan. 11 and were brought to the quarantine facility in Pampanga for the mandatory 30-day quarantine, as well as blood sampling and testing.
The positive results for Q fever came out on Feb. 6.
Some goats, however, were transferred to Marinduque, which underwent a separate series of tests on March 11.
The first confirmatory test using the reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test turned out positive on June 19, followed by a similar result for the final confirmatory test on June 20.