Bacolod City – Only Escalante City in Negros Occidental remains the red (infected) zone for African Swine Fever (ASF), disclosed Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana over-the-weekend.
In the red zone, strict prohibitions are enforced against the movement of live pigs, pork and pork products (including fresh/frozen pork and uncooked processed pork products, with the exception of cooked and canned processed pork products), as well as swine genetic materials, to prevent the spread of ASF.
All other areas in Negros Occidental have been downgraded from red to pink zone, according to Lemana.
A pink zone designates areas where ASF has not been detected but are immediately adjacent to confirmed infected areas (red zones).
While the resurgence ASF was reported in Batangas and in Valencia, Negros Oriental, Lemana reported that they have not monitored recurrence of such hogs viral disease in the province.
However, due to the threat of ASF, Negros Occidental is still banning the entry of hogs and pork related products from Panay, Guimaras, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Luzon, and Mindanao provinces.
Lemana said that they are not taking chances, especially now that Negros Occidental is on the third phase of recovery efforts in hog repopulation.
Last year, Negros Occidental logged almost 18,000 hog mortalities in about 20 local government units, mainly due to hog cholera and ASF.
The Department of Agriculture recently kicked off the controlled trial of a Vietnam-developed African Swine Fever live vaccine in Lobo, Batangas – a municipality with one of the highest cases of ASF.
The rollout of the vaccine will involve inoculating healthy pigs to curb the spread of the devastating disease that has been hounding the multibillion-peso hog industry since 2019.
The introduction of this vaccine is a significant step forward in the fight against ASF, which has severely impacted both large and small-scale hog farmers across the country, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Lemana said there is no advice yet from DA if Negros Occidental will also avail of the vaccine. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)