The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said the government is on the alert against the new type of swine flu found in China which is reportedly “capable of triggering a pandemic.”

In an interview with DZMM, BAI Director Dr. Ronnie D. Domingo said an inter-agency meeting is already being organized to prepare for possible emerging diseases in humans and animals.

“Meron tayong ino-organize na meeting kasi po iyong problema natin ngayon, may sakit sa tao, may sakit sa hayop, tapos may kasama pang wild animals (We are organizing a meeting because we are facing multiple problems right now. We have human disease, animal disease, and we’re also looking at wild animals),” Domingo said.

Domingo said the Inter-agency Committee on Zoonosis will lead the preparation for the newly discovered swine flu called G4.

The committee is responsible for studying disease which can be transmitted to both humans and animals, according to Domingo.

“Itong influenza virus nagbabago- bago po ang make-up, nag mu-mutate po siya kaya binabantayan nila baka po iyong nakita nila sa China ay mag mutate ‘yan, ay mabilis na siyang kumalat at maging cause ng sakit (This influenza virus changes its make-up, it mutates, that’s why it's being monitored and studied because if the one discovered in China mutates and spreads fast, it might cause a disease),” Domingo added.

Agence France-Presse reported that G4 is “genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.”

Domingo said that the importation of pork and poultry products from China have long been banned in the country.

“Mula noon pa dahil sa China may bird flu, may foot and mouth disease. Noon pa man ay naka ban na ang karne ng baboy at manok galing sa China (We have banned the importation of pork and poultry products from China a long time ago since there are bird flu and foot and mouth disease there),” Domingo said.

Domingo reported a decrease in the number of pigs affected by African swine fever (ASF).

From 63 per million pigs, the average number of infected went down to 20 per million since the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).