Editorial

Precautions amid viruses

The outbreak of the novel corona virus – acute respiratory disease, now called by the World Health Organization as COVID-19, in Wuhun, China has scared many countries because of its fast spread of contamination that prompted governments to order the lockdowns and travel ban, including the Philippines. As of this writing, there is a recorded death of 1,100 in China because of COVID-19, which was discovered by a Chinese physician, who raised the alarm but then died of such contamination.

        Now the added scary diseases --- the onslaught or another outbreak of Avian Flu or Bird’s Flu in one district in China and this lately the spread of the African Swine Fever in Mindanao, which first appeared in Northern Luzon. Now, authorities will be monitoring the migratory birds since the disease can contaminate humans, hence, the advice to make distance from the species when the outbreak is reported.  

The ASF, though it does not affect humans, is also a big concern. As of this late, some 11,000 hogs have been culled or killed in the Davao Region, first spotted in Davao Occidental and then in Calinan  district of Davao City and also in Davao del Sur. This prompted the provincial governments in North Cotabato and South Cotabato to order a lockdown or the ban on entry of hogs or pigs into their territorialities. Already, there are reported ASF cases in Koronadal City. Cebu City has already banned the entry of hogs and their by-products from Mindanao for 90-day period as precautionary move.

There is a domino effect on the case of the ASF since the dwindling supply of pork and its by-products will surely soar high the price. Hence, consumers will have to look for alternatives such as chicken and fish whose prices will also soar high because of the necessitating high demands. On the other hand, the ASF is already affecting the hog industry such that raisers are losing in the business as well as those connected in the economic enterprise. We cross our fingers that the Avian or Bird’s Flu would not become a menace to us. But of course, predominantly Muslim communities in provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur and those in the Sulu Archipelago could not at all be alarmed by the ASF but the Bird’s Flu is another thing since chickens are put to high risk as these are consumed by humans.

Precaution is now a big thing here. Government agencies, with sectoral coordination and support, specifically assigned to implement the lockdown and prohibitive entries, should be doubly alert on their duties and functions if only to secure non-contaminated areas from threats to health security. There should be no let-up, meaning no sleeping stance, no laxities or lapses, and no exemption to the rule. As medical experts say, there is antidote to bacteria but not on different kinds of viruses, only remedies or control.

So, how did the ASF come to Mindanao? How alert are we on the danger poised by migratory birds when these flock on lairs in Sarangani province, for one, and other flora? Precaution… precaution!.