The Provincial Veterinarian Office declared recently that African Swine Fever (ASF) and hog cholera cases in Negros Occidental are now “under control,” following the deaths of almost 18,000 hogs last year.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana, however, said that they are not taking chances as they continue to implement the banning of pork and its related products from ASF affected areas.
Despite the positive developments, Lemana further said that while Negros Occidental ranked number two in the Philippines in the production of swine, yet it cannot ship hogs to other provinces since the Department of Agriculture has yet to issue them a Certificate of Free Status to prove that their hogs are free from ASF.
Hog industry losses in Negros Occidental reached P199.5 million last year, because of ASF and hog cholera diseases.
Since September last year, Lemana said they have not recorded any swine mortalities, either due to ASF or hog cholera.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has also started to distribute financial assistance to more than 1,500 affected hog raisers, at P2,000 per family, since December last year.
To start its hog repopulation program, Lemana said they will commence the “sentinel program,” a science-based approach to detecting the presence of ASF virus in a particular area, in the first quarter of 2024.
She however noted that in the last quarter of last year, some farmers started the sentineling program in their backyards. So far, there were no swine mortalities reported as of this time, Lemana further said.
This indicates that we have been effective in our pre-sentineling program, which includes disinfection and other related preventive activities, she added.
By the second quarter of 2024, Lemana also said that they are targeting the start of the hog repopulation program.
(Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy by TVDS)
