PHILLIPINES BANS EATING MEAT OF DEAD HORSE?

 

MANILA, Philippines -  Butchering dead horses and eating their meat has been banned in the southern Philippines due to the reported deaths of people who contracted Nipah virus in two villages in the southern Philippines in April.

The incident was investigated by representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in May, but was not reported to the public, sources told Gulf News on Friday.

“The ban was not formalised although it is strictly enforced. It is part of an ongoing surveillance in Tinalon and Midtungok villages, in the municipality of Senater Ninoy Aquino, a province in Sultan Kudarat. 
The order came from village-level representatives of the health and agriculture departments in the two villages after 13 people had died when they [butchered] 10 previously dead horses and ate their meat in April, a chain that also affected cats and dogs,” said a source who requested for anonymity.

Manila’s health department did not formally announce the suspected outbreak of Nipah Virus-related cases when it occurred in Sultan Kudarat, the source added.

Nipah Virus was blamed for the death of horses, residents, cats, and dogs in Tinalon and Midtungkok villages. 

The horses were initially contaminated by fruit bats that belong to the family Pteropodidae, endemic in one of the two affected villages and a known natural reservoir of Nipah Virus. Residents, cats, and dogs died because they ate contaminated horse meat, according to a paper published this year by Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Source: Agency