BAI checkpoints stop ASF-infected hogs from reaching Luzon provinces

INSPECTION In this photo taken last week, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) personnel manning a checkpoint flag down a delivery truck for inspection along a road in Quezon City as the agency
intensifies measures to prevent the spread of African swine fever. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BULACAN PROVINCIAL VETERINARY OFFICE

CITY OF MALOLOS—The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has inspected 735 vehicles at eight strategic checkpoints across Metro Manila and Bulacan province over the past week, preventing hogs suspected of being infected with African swine fever (ASF) from reaching other areas in Luzon.

According to Voltaire Basinang, the provincial veterinarian of Bulacan, the BAI operations, which began on Aug. 14 in Quezon City and the cities of Valenzuela, Malabon and Manila, have protected Bulacan and other provinces in Central Luzon, as well as the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions, from becoming distribution sites for ASF-infected hogs.

Basinang, in an interview on Thursday, did not disclose the number of hogs involved in these vehicle inspections.

The checkpoints were established based on recommendations from Basinang’s office during recent meetings.

This led to the testing of hogs from eight of the intercepted vehicles.

Six of the vehicles inspected by BAI personnel carried hogs that tested positive for ASF. The infected animals were “condemned” and buried in an undisclosed location in Central Luzon.

Basinang said 67 vehicles were asked to return to their origins due to the lack of necessary documents, although the hogs had tested negative for ASF.

READ: Truck with 11 pigs positive for ASF caught in Valenzuela

The remaining vehicles were allowed to pass through after presenting valid documents proving the animals were ASF-free, he said.

“There is an accreditation process from the BAI before transport permits are issued. Blood samples from the hogs must be tested before they can be accredited to market their products,” Basinang told the Inquirer.

Tests

Meat inspectors in slaughterhouses and public markets across all 20 towns and four cities in Bulacan ensure the quality of meat distributed in their areas, he added.

According to Gov. Daniel Fernando, regular blood collection and testing are being done in Bulacan farms, especially after an ASF case was detected in Bocaue in July. The town was later classified as a red or infected zone for swine fever.

In April, the province was declared in the pink zone category, indicating that it was ASF-free.

Fernando said municipal agricultural offices in Bulacan carry out regular blood testing (every month, every three months, and every six months) in their respective farms.

According to the provincial agriculture office, between 400,000 and 500,000 commercial medium-scale and backyard hog farms are operating in Bulacan, which was among the areas hardest hit by ASF in 2019.