BACOLOD CITY, Philippines ? The Negros Occidental provincial agriculture office has reported a growing presence of army worms, rats and rice black bugs in fields in five cities and three towns in the province.

The bugs, rats and army worms were noted in rice, corn and sugarcane fields in the affected areas, the report said.

The army worms in larvae stage, which feed on crops and plants, have been noted on seven hectares of rice land in barangays Blumentritt and Talotog of Murcia town and a fourth of a hectare of rice in Candoni town, the report said.

There has also been a reported presence of army worms in some villages in Kabankalan City and Bacolod City, it added.

In Escalante City, army worms in high larval population were noted in two ha of sugarcane fields and 38 ha of corn, and in 28 ha of grassland in Barangay Guimbalaon, Silay City, adjacent to areas planted with corn, sugarcane and rice, the report said.

In Cadiz City, army worms were reported in two ha of sugarcane.

Rice black bugs have caused 3 percent damage on 0.24 of a hectare of rice while rats have caused 5.4 percent damage on 16.48 ha of rice in San Enrique, the report also said.

In Iloilo City, the Iloilo Provincial Veterinarian?s Office (Ipvo) has expressed concern over the increasing deaths of domestic animals, particularly carabaos and cows, in an Iloilo town due to septicemia.

As of Monday, septicemia killed nine carabaos and five cows, Ipvo chief Dr. Silvino Teodosio said.

Septicemia is caused by the bacteria that live in the tonsils or throat of animals that spread rapidly in the body during periods of environmental stress, especially during the rainy season, Teodosio explained.

Carabaos and cows ?undergo serious stress during rainy season as it is also used in farming,? he said.

Teodosio said the latest fatality recorded by the Ipvo happened at Barangay Gines in Leon, Iloilo when the carabao that was grazing shortly before noon collapsed and died.

?Leon is densely populated in livestock. Usually, during this rainy season, we expect cases of hemorrhagic septicemia. Unfortunately this year, it is not simply cases but already an outbreak,? Teodosio said.

So far, only Leon has confirmed cases of septicemia, he added.

?This is a cause for alarm. Of the 14 cases, there were no symptoms. It has a far acute strain. We detect no symptoms. We have antibiotics in the office but we have no chance of using them since the animals show no symptoms,? he stressed.

In previous years, he said, the cases showed symptoms like cough, runny nose and fever so they were able to treat the animals.

?The cases now are alarming because we can no longer administer medication,? Teodosio added.

The disease, however, would be limited to carabao, cow, sheep and goats as it was not contagious to human and confined only to livestock, he said.

Teodosio also said there was a need for the municipality to appoint a veterinarian who could immediately address the veterinary needs of their animals.

He warned that there was a danger of spreading the disease if the infected livestock were slaughtered and would be in contact with healthy livestock.

Some owners tend to slaughter and sell the meat to recoup their losses, Teodosio said.

He said he would meet with the village chiefs of Leon to discuss the problem.