MANILA, Philippines??Beso-beso??or social kissing in Filipino?is a no-no these days, if you want to stay healthy.

That?s the advice Sunday of the Department of Health (DoH) amid the emergence of a new and deadly strain of swine flu in Mexico that has prompted authorities in Europe and Asia to put in place surveillance and preventive measures.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap also ordered a ban on pork imports from the United States and Mexico as a precaution.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center, said he expected the swine flu virus to spread faster than the deadly SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, that struck China in early 2003, swept several dozen countries and left nearly 800 people dead.

?Right now, there is still no case of swine flu in the country,? Tayag told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). Asked how lethal the virus is, he said, ?There are those who recover and there are some who unfortunately don?t.?

He said swine flu is transmitted through droplet infection and physical contact.

?You don?t get swine flu from eating pork. We still don?t have a case here in the country, but once we have that, we should refrain from shaking hands, bussing cheeks and hugging,? Tayag said.

He also called on people to cover their mouths and noses when sneezing and to wash their hands, especially after shaking hands with other people.

?It?s OK if you?re healthy. But would you always ask someone if he or she has a cold or cough before bussing him or her on the cheeks. The best way would be to stop,? Tayag said.

Like ordinary flu

Tayag said the DoH has started monitoring cases of patients exhibiting flu-like symptoms in the wake of the World Health Organization warning against the transmission and incidence of the new swine flu virus.

?The symptoms are like those of the common flu. The difference is, there is still no vaccine against [the new swine flu virus],? Tayag said.

Swine flu symptoms, like common flu, include fever, sore throat, sore muscles and diarrhea.

?The virus in the US results in a mild flu. There are no complications. The one in Mexico is much worse,? Tayag said.

Tayag said the usual flu medicines such as the Tamiflu brand are administered to those with swine flu.

Appeal on blanket ban

Renato Eleria, chair of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., urged the Department of Agriculture to refrain from imposing a ?blanket ban? on all imports from the United States and Mexico, only in states or regions affected.

Director Davinio Catbagan of the Bureau of Animal Industry said his office was encouraging farmers to vaccinate against swine flu as a precaution.

He said the virus that struck Mexico is similar to the strain that cropped up in isolated cases in the Philippines but had never resulted in an epidemic.

Local pork safe

Catbagan said local farmers had not vaccinated against swine flu because other diseases such as FMD, or foot and mouth disease, were more alarming.

?About one million doses of swine influenza vaccine are commercially available,? Catbagan said.

The DoH, however, pointed out that because the virus is new, no vaccine has yet been developed to fight it.

Eleria sought to assure consumers that local pork and pork products are safe.

?We have never had a swine flu outbreak, even though isolated cases have cropped up now and then. This is why farmers currently do not vaccinate against swine flu. But we are willing to vaccinate if it?s really necessary,? Eleria said.

He said farm workers can occasionally catch swine flu from stock but are not known to pass on the infection to other people. Other swine diseases have not been proven to jump from swine to humans.

Eleria recalled that the FMD outbreak in the 1990s did not affect humans, nor did the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome that struck last year.

?So long as the swine flu virus does not enter our country from outside, we don?t have reason to be alarmed,? Eleria said.

Philippine swine farms collectively have 13.9 million head raised for local consumption. The country has not started exporting pork.