50 Camarines Sur villages under tight watch for ASF

LEGAZPI CITY –– The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) has placed over villages in nine Camarines Sur towns and Naga City under “tight surveillance” to stop the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the province.

Emilia Bordado, Department of Agriculture (DA) Bicol spokesperson, said that in the ASF watch list were over 50 villages in Calabanga, Magarao, Canaman, Libmanan, and Naga City. These villages are inside the 7-kilometers surveillance zones.

Surveillance zones, according to Bordado, are areas where live pigs would undergo laboratory tests and, once tested positive for ASF, would be culled.

Meanwhile, 48 villages in Libmanan, Canaman, Camaligan, Gainza, Pili, and Minalabac were included in the 10-kilometer Control Zone.

Live pigs in these areas could be sold and transported provided these have health and shipment permits issued by an authorized veterinary officer.

Bordado said that as of Friday, various checkpoints in Camarines Sur had confiscated 16.9 metric tons of meat and meat products from ASF-hit areas.

So far 1,362 pigs in four Bombon villages and two Calabanga villages have been culled as of Friday./lzb