5th Iloilo town hit by African Swine Fever
INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
ILOILO CITY — Another town in Iloilo is affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF), bringing to five the number of localities hit by the disease in the province.
Officials of Santa Barbara town announced on Monday, Nov. 7, its first ASF case in one barangay, the name of which was not disclosed by authorities.
Provincial veterinarian Darel Tabuada said at least two hogs from a backyard farm tested positive for ASF and this affected two other farms.
The Iloilo Provincial Veterinary Office (IPVO) has confined the “red zone” classification into the village, while finding out if these ASF cases were isolated.
The other towns that earlier reported ASF cases were Oton, San Miguel, Alimodian, and Leganes.
The IPVO said it was conducting surveillance within a 1-kilometer radius of farms, possibly with ASF cases to determine if the disease is limited to a certain barangay.
If there are ASF cases outside a barangay, the whole town may be classified as a “red zone,” where the provincial government and neighboring local governments put up checkpoints to prevent the exit of livestock and pork products.
ASF is a fatal and highly contagious disease of domestic and wild pigs with a mortality rate of 100 percent, according to the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
It causes pigs to have high fever, lose their appetite, and causes hemorrhages in their skin and internal organs.
There is no known vaccine against ASF yet. The NMIS said ASF is nonetheless not considered a human health threat.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez earlier created a joint ASF Task Force to prevent the entry of live pigs, boar semen, pork and pork products from places whose hogs and pork products are believed to be infected with the virus.
Lacson said they need to take extra precautions after learning about a case of ASF in Oton town.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia also prohibited the entry of swine and pork products from Iloilo for 60 days or until Dec. 12, to protect their multi-billion pork industry.
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