2 pigs test positive for ASF in Bacolod

Reuters file photo

BACOLOD CITY —Two pigs in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod, have tested positive for African swine fever (ASF), Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Friday.

“The two pigs tested positive for ASF on Friday based on a convective PCR (polymerase chain reaction), although the samples will be sent to Manila for RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), which they say is 99 percent accurate,” Benitez said.

Pigs within a 500-meter radius of ground zero in Taculing will be culled, according to Benitez.

“It appears that the two pigs (from Bago City) are isolated cases,” he said.

Despite the ASF discovery, Benitez assured that consuming pork in Bacolod City remains safe.

“It is not a health hazard to humans, but a threat to the hog industry,” Benitez said.