JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS AND BAN ON IMPORT OF LIVE PIGS

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Mr R. Ravindran asked the Minister for National Development if he will give an update on the measures taken by his Ministry to prevent the spreading of Japanese Encephalitis and when we can expect the import of live pigs into Singapore.

Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the total number of pork sellers, pork-based and pork-related traders and stallholders who are affected by the ban on the import of live pigs into Singapore; and (b) whether there are other forms of assistance being considered to help these traders and stallholders, apart from the one-month rental waiver for pork stallholders and factories.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan asked the Minister for National Development whether, in the recent viral outbreak, the illnesses of the abattoir workers and those involved in the trading of pigs could have been avoided, and how serious are their illnesses.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 1, 2 and 3 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Thank you. Sir, first, let me give a quick summary of what happened. Following the outbreak of the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Malaysia, the Primary Production Department (PPD) monitored the situation closely and kept in close contact with their counterparts in Malaysia.

As the situation deteriorated in Malaysia, PPD progressively took additional measures. PPD carried out serological surveys on imported pigs to confirm that there was no active JE infection in imported pigs. Mosquito control measures were intensified. Abattoir workers were advised to be vaccinated.

When it was reported that a Hendra-like virus has been isolated from human cases in Malaysia, PPD stopped the import of all pigs from Malaysia and closed our abattoirs. As an added precaution, PPD also banned the import of dogs, cats, horses and other mammals from Malaysia. These measures are still in place today.

PPD and other agencies in the Ministries of the Environment and Health are still closely monitoring the situation. The measures put in place have been effective in not only ensuring that JE did not occur in Singapore but also that the outbreak of the previously unknown Hendra-like virus has been contained.

Next, let me touch on the impact of the ban. The ban on the import of live pigs into Singapore has affected the following groups of people directly:

i. 22 live pig importers;

ii. 759 pork stallholders (647 pork stallholders in markets managed by HDB, and another 112 by ENV);

iii. 98 meat processing plants licensed by PPD. These plants, employing about 860 workers, are involved in the cutting and deboning of pork, meat roasting and the manufacturing of Chinese and Taiwanese sausages, and sweet meat (bak kua); and

iv 75 food factory tenants in HDB industrial estates. 11 of these are meat processing plants licensed by PPD.

To assist those directly affected by the ban and with little recourse to substitutes, both HDB and ENV have waived the rent for pork stalls in HDB and ENV markets for one month. As for the 75 food factory tenants, they either received a waiver of one-month rent or a half-a-month (if they are not completely dependent on fresh pork supplies), and one month service and conservancy charges given by the PAP Town Councils. Both HDB and ENV would review the concessions given towards the end of the one-month rent free period and may extend the waiver, if necessary.

With regard to the resumption of live pig imports, we will only allow it when we are certain and confident that they are safe for the Singaporean public.

When pigs can be imported from Malaysia will depend on how successfully the current disease outbreak is controlled. We will resume imports from Johor only when the area can be declared to be a disease-free zone according to international standards. We do not foresee this taking place in the immediate future.

The pig farms in Pulau Bulan, Indonesia, were not affected by the JE or Hendra-like virus outbreak. However, now that we know of the existence of the Hendra-like virus in our region, we have to take special precautions. First, Pulau Bulan must be free from the Hendra-like virus or Nipah virus. PPD has recently inspected Pulau Bulan and did not observe any clinical evidence of the disease there. PPD has also taken blood samples of the pigs and sent them to CDC, Atlanta, USA, for Nipah virus testing. When we receive the test results to confirm that the farms and the island are free from the disease, then we can be sure that Pulau Bulan is indeed free. Following that, we will do regular blood testing every two weeks to exclude the Nipah virus infection. We will also maintain strict viral security at the farms, ie, the pigs can only be brought into the farms with PPD's approval. We will insist on the maintenance of strict hygiene and control of vectors such as mosquitoes, bats which are potential Nipah virus vector and rodents.

In addition, PPD will insist that the following measures be taken:

All pigs, from the weaning stage, must wear ear tags that are serially numbered and approved by PPD as a means of identification. Each consignment of pigs must be isolated for two weeks prior to exporting to Singapore. Every consignment of pigs must be inspected by a PPD veterinary officer to ensure that the pigs are properly identified and are healthy before loading into barges for transport to Singapore. Every consignment of pigs must again be inspected for health and identification on arrival in Singapore. In the short term, PPD will station its own veterinary officers full-time at Pulau Bulan to check production and health records, closely monitor the farms for any sign of infectious diseases and ensure that all pigs are properly tagged and accounted for. In this way, we can be confident that any pig imported into Singapore from Pulau Bulan will be disease-free.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan asked whether the illnesses could have been avoided. Let me explain that our actions taken have been effective in preventing the JE outbreak from occurring in Singapore.

However, the illnesses affecting the local abattoir workers have been confirmed to be due to the previously unknown Hendra-like virus. Prior to 19th March 1999, there were no reports from Malaysia that indicated that another virus other than JE may be involved in the human cases there.

Dr Lee also asked about the seriousness of the illnesses. Eleven abattoir workers were affected by the viral illness. Of these, 9 had infection of the brain and 2 had infection of the lungs. One of the patients died and 9 have been discharged from hospital as at 12th April 1999. The remaining patient who is still in hospital has improved and is in stable condition. The patient is expected to be discharged from hospital later this week.

The illness caused by the Hendra-like virus is serious and can be fatal. Prompt action by the various Government agencies has limited the number of infections. We were unfortunate to have one fatality but we are thankful that the rest have recovered.

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Sir, may I ask the Minister if we need to diversify our sources of food import as much as possible from now on and whether he will promote chilled fresh meat as the preferred choice of meat in Singapore, and if anything can be done and has been done to facilitate this?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, the outbreak of the Nipah virus is of serious consequences to us as far as our pig imports are concerned. Even with all the precautions that we have taken, the supply from Pulau Bulan can only meet 20% of our consumption. At the same time, we do not see the supply from Johor or the rest of Malaysia coming in in the immediate future. So our main sources will have to be from other countries in the form of chilled or frozen pork. This is the business environment that we are communicating to those in the trade. We are having discussions with the pork stallholders association and explaining to them that they have to adjust to this new environment and the Government would help them to adapt to this new condition.

At best, Pulau Bulan can supply us 20%. The supply from Malaysia will not be forthcoming, and even if it is forthcoming in the following months or years, it will continue to have a question mark because of the outbreak of the Hendra virus. We will always have to look out for possible outbreaks. For reasons of food safety and hygiene and diversification of our sources, we feel that we have to move to chilled and frozen pork from a wider variety of sources and we will be working with traders in the trade on how to adjust to providing chilled and frozen pork to Singaporeans.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, the Minister has said that the PAP Town Councils have given a waiver of service and conservancy charges to all stalls selling pork. I would like to report to this House that the Potong Pasir Town Council has done likewise.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan (Nominated Member): Sir, may I ask two questions? The first is: is pork, which has been infected with the Nipah virus and the Hendra-like virus, safe for eating? The second question is: how can we ensure that if we eat pork we would not suffer from eating pork precisely since there was a case of pigs being smuggled into Singapore recently?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: We have said this repeatedly. First of all, pigs which are affected by JE, the pork is safe for consumption. JE is not transmitted from human to human and it is not transmitted from eating pork. The evidence so far shows that this is the same for the Hendra-like virus or the Nipah virus, ie, you will not contract the virus from a human being or from eating pork. The evidence so far shows that those who were down with the disease were in direct contact with a diseased pig. That is the main source of infection.

Mr Simon S C Tay (Nominated Member): Sir, may I ask the Minister, given that there is a Hendra-like virus involved, race-horses which have visited Malaysia in the last six months may be susceptible to this. What measures is the Ministry taking to make sure that these horses are not infected?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, since 19th March 1999, we have banned the movement of race-horses between Malaysia and Singapore. These horses are kept in quarantine. They have been tested for infection of the virus. The Turf Club in Singapore has also systematically set out to test all the horses in Singapore as a precautionary measure. Only when we are confident that the horses are free from the disease will we admit the horses into Singapore.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Will the Government assist existing fresh pork sellers to transfer to the sale of chilled and frozen pork?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: We are in discussion with the association and stallholders. We think it is necessary and important for the stallholders to switch to facilities that can allow them to sell frozen or chilled pork. I think Lianhe Zaobao has reported that a stallholder in Marine Parade market has renovated his stall to sell chilled pork. It shows a very innovative and entrepreneurial approach to the situation. The chiller facilities cost less than $6,000. The Government, through HDB and ENV, will facilitate all this conversion. We will provide the necessary power supply. We will upgrade all our wet markets so that all the stalls can be similarly upgraded.

Mr Simon Tay: Sir, can I ask the Minister about the wild boars in Pulau Ubin which have been ordered to be killed? Given that we are taking the approach of testing race-horses, might not the same approach be taken for these wild boars, that they be hunted down, anaesthetized and then tested, rather than being shot on sight?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: It is a pleasure to be talking about pigs rather than HDB flats! But I am afraid wild boars do not quite come under my Ministry. These are wild boars in Pulau Ubin and from what I read in the newspapers, there seems to be an over-population of wild boars and MINDEF is taking this opportunity to cull the wild boars. If the wild boars can be tested for the disease, then I hear a comment from behind me that they would not be wild boars. They would be tamed boars!

Mr Gerard Ee (Nominated Member): Sir, could the Minister clarify whether other meats are exposed to the danger of these viruses, such as beef, chicken and duck?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: There is no evidence that the virus has spread to any other meat.