MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang assured the public on Thursday that the government is working to contain the Ebola Reston virus, which was found to have infected hogs in at least three northern Philippine provinces.

At the same time, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo advised the public to buy pork only from stalls certified by the National Meat Inspection Service.

"The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health are working together to control it, but this strain is not known to infect humans and is an animal health issue," Fajardo said in a statement.

In a separate statement, deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the health and agriculture departments to "monitor the situation and assure the people [that government] is taking all steps to ensure their health
and safety."

Golez, a medical doctor, said Ebola Reston virus is different from the Ebola strain found in African monkeys, which he said was "very fatal."

"There have been no recoded human deaths because of the Ebola Reston virus," he said.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said pigs in two commercial farms and two backyard farms in the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Pangasinan were found to have been infected with Ebola Reston.