Agri dep’t confirms new cases of African Swine Fever in QC

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has confirmed the new African Swine Fever (ASF) cases in Quezon City as it also lauded local governments for their “heightened vigilance” against the disease.

Based on swine bulletin No. 10, the DA said that ASF cases had been verified in Barangays Tatalon and Pasong Tamo. There were also reported cases in another barangay in Quezon City, Tandang Sora, although department spokesperson Noel Reyes said that confirmatory results had yet to be released.

Some barangays in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces were also being checked for ASF cases.

In the same bulletin, Agriculture Secretary William Dar commended the “quick and firm response of our local chief executives in the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Quezon City,” adding that the strict implementation of animal quarantine protocols had prevented the spread of the disease.

In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan said the latest death toll due to ASF was less than 1 percent of the country’s total swine population of 12.8 million.

12K in over 20 barangays

To date, the DA Crisis Management Task Force on Swine has reported that about 12,000 heads of pigs have tested positive for ASF in over 20 barangays, although according to task force head Dr. Reildrin Morales, “this represents one-third of the total depopulated pigs in ‘ground zero.’”

This means that 36,000 hogs have already been culled following the 1-7-10 protocol. Under this security measure, pigs within a 1-kilometer radius of the infected site must be exterminated immediately even if they are unaffected by the disease.

Those within the 7-kilometer radius, on the other hand, will be placed under surveillance while those within the 10-kilometer radius will undergo mandatory monitoring.