Quezon City villages now free of ASF virus

MANILA, Philippines — As the Quezon City government announced that it would strictly implement the ordinance prohibiting backyard piggeries and poultry raising, it also said that the African swine fever (ASF) virus had been contained in affected barangays in the city.

According to city officials, no new cases have been reported since Nov. 13 while there have been no ASF-related deaths in the past 30 days.

In October, six of the eight barangays where ASF cases had been reported were declared free of the virus: Tatalon, Roxas, Pasong Tamo, Bagong Silangan, Tandang Sora and Commonwealth.

The remaining two, Barangays Payatas and Gulod, were later declared virus-free as well.

“This experience teaches us the lesson that transparency and allowing the people to participate in solving our problems [are better] than hiding the problem from them,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said during the recent local health board meeting.

Despite the absence of new ASF cases, Belmonte said they would continue the disinfection process in barangays.The first case of the virus was reported in Barangay Silangan in September, where 11 dead pigs tested positive for ASF.