MANILA, Philippines — The hog industry and the government alike assured the public that no new case of Ebola Reston Virus infection in Philippine swine had surfaced, saying a report in a journal cited on Friday was likely referring to the outbreak in December.

International news reports quoted the Science journal’s Friday edition as saying that the Reston ebolavirus or Rebov “has been detected in pigs for the first time.”

“We have not received ground reports of any new infection. The article from the scientific journal was probably referring to the outbreak in December last year since journal articles go through a long research process,” National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) president Albert Lim said in a phone interview.

Government authorities, in cooperation with the NFHFI, culled about 6,000 hogs in Pandi, Bulacan, in early March to stop the spread of ERV in hogs. This was the first large-scale animal culling done in the Philippines to address health concerns.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) director Davinio Catbagan confirmed that there was no new strain or infection.

The BAI was set to test backyard hog farms in 566 barangays (villages) across Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and in Pangasinan province. With Joselle R. Badilla, Orlando B. Dinoy and Grace C. Albasin Inquirer Mindanao