DA: No active cases of Q fever in PH, final report out soon

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MANILA, Philippines – There are no active cases of Q fever in the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday, adding that they would soon release their final report on the Q fever cases among imported goats.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the Coxiella burnetii bacteria, which is transmissible to humans through contact with infected animals or their excreta or body and birthing fluids.

On June 21, the DA confirmed the first Q fever cases in the country after a confirmatory test among live goats that arrived in the Philippines from the US on Jan. 11, showed positive results on June 19 and 20.

In an interview, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said no additional Q fever cases were reported after the depopulation of 94 imported goats from the US in “secluded farms” in Pampanga and Marinduque.

“Natapos na iyong culling ng Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) doon sa mga alleged na five dozen ng goats na na-import galing sa (the BAI has finished culling five dozen goats imported from the) US following the detection ng Q fever. Wala na, wala nang reported case ng Q fever. Na-control na iyong (No more reported cases of Q fever. We have already controlled the) Q-fever,” he said.

De Mesa made the statement after the DA lifted the temporary ban on the import of live goats from the US under Memorandum Order 43 dated Oct. 8.

READ: No cases of Q fever yet in RITM, San Lazaro Hospital

“Based dito sa report ng (on the report of the) World Organization for Animal Health, there’s been no reported or recorded case of Q fever in the United States. So, most likely, the Q fever na na-detect ay dito nanggaling sa atin (the Q fever that was detected here possibly came from us),” he said.

The final report of the fact-finding team may be disclosed within the month, he added.

Earlier, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he ordered a study to verify whether Q fever is endemic in the Philippines as the imported goats from the US tested negative for Q fever before arriving in the country.

De Mesa also cited “more stringent” measures, including stricter pre-border and quarantine facilities operations, to prevent the possible spread of similar diseases in the future.

“Ma-ensure na kapag merong detection, immediately magre-report. Kasi iyon iyong nangyari dati. Hindi agad nakaikot yung tamang (To ensure that if there’s detection, it will be immediately reported. What happened previously was there was no proper dissemination of accurate) information. So, these are part of the stringent measures,” he said.