Authorities are scrambling to prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF) following the detection of new cases in Barangay West Balabag, Valencia town in Negros Oriental, officials said Thursday.
“The ASF cases in Valencia are a re-emergence as there was a previous outbreak last year in that town but it was already contained through culling,” said Dr. Alfonso Tundag, quarantine officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in the province.
Tundag said authorities are still investigating the possible sources of the ASF resurgence in the municipality.
As of late Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture-Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office (DA-PATCO) reports showed that 160 heads have already been infected and are scheduled for culling.
Alejandro Rafal, Jr., DA-PATCO head in the province, said that following a meeting last Monday with the local government unit (LGU), depopulation of pigs in the said barangay has already started.
Disinfection also commenced in farms and residences where deceased hogs were reported.
While waiting for the Valencia LGU to issue an executive order relative to the ASF outbreak, checkpoints have been established in strategic areas to prevent entry of live hogs from the affected barangay.
Rafal said a 1,500-meter radius in the affected barangay would be included in the depopulation of hogs.
Initial investigation revealed that ASF cases were already detected last month but no one reported these to authorities.
Tundag said that during the meeting with LGU officials, it was found that “some 50 pigs had died as early as the first week of July”.
and their owners did not report the cases.
“They did not report the cases, perhaps out of fear that their live hogs will be culled as well,” the BAI official explained.
He asked the municipal agriculture officer of Valencia to conduct a backtracking of events surrounding the ASF resurgence to determine the source of the infection.
Meanwhile, Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office said the town police are setting up checkpoints to ensure that live hogs from Barangay West Balabag will not find their way to this capital city and nearby towns like Sibulan and Bacong.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will indemnify farmers whose hogs were culled following an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Barangay West Balabag in Valencia, Negros Oriental, an official said Friday.
Alejandro Rafal, DA-Provincial Agriculture Technical Coordinating Office (DA-PATCO) told the Philippine News Agency that each farmer will get PHP5,000 per culled hog up to a maximum of PHP20,000 for four hog heads.
“We are now consolidating data from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) as regards the total number of farmers/individuals affected by the stamping out activities conducted by multiple agencies in recent days,” Rafal said.
As of Aug. 9, some 192 hogs were culled with 37 farmers in West Balabag affected.
Meanwhile, Jaymar Vilos, PVO information officer-designate, said in a separate interview that they concluded their depopulation of pigs late Thursday.
“Laboratory tests of blood samples taken from pigs already turned out negative for ASF as of today”, Vilos said.
Surveillance and monitoring of ASF cases, however, continue in the adjacent barangays of Balugo, Calayugan, and East Balabag, which have hog populations.
Vilos said they were looking into the possibility that ASF could still be present in the province since some LGUs and hog farmers were uncooperative in surveillance and reporting activities, making it difficult for authorities to take action to stamp out ASF. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
_________________________
Photo caption: A multiple-agency team collects one of the 192 hogs in Barangay West Balabag in Valencia, Negros Oriental during culling activities to stop the spread of African swine fever. (Photo by Provincial Veterinary Office)
