• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Cases of deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) have now been detected in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
This was confirmed yesterday by Mayor Joedith Gallego, who reported that the ASF virus was detected in two hogs that came from Brgys. Patag and Guinhalaran, all in Silay City, which recorded has 132 swine deaths as of June 11.
Of the ASF testing conducted in six Silay City barangays, only two have confirmed cases, Gallego further said.
The ground zero, where ASF cases were detected, have already been cordoned off by authorities, to prevent its spread to other areas of Silay City.
ASF hog deaths were also reported earlier in the cities of Bacolod and Victorias, as well as Pulupandan.
Gallego said that the spate of hog deaths in Silay City affected the volume of slaughtered pigs at the LGU-managed slaughterhouse, which due to swine diseases, is down to 40 from 80 pigs a day.
While the prices of live pigs are diving, he however noted that the price of pork in the city’s public market has not been affected.
Gallego further said that the City Veterinary Office has intensified their campaign in conducting vaccination campaigns against hog cholera, to lessen hog deaths.
“We are doing everything we can,” the mayor pointed out.
In San Enrique town, various hog diseases have wiped out almost the entire pig population, as pig deaths hit 2,671, or 99.22 percent of its 2,692 population, as of June 11, according to a report of the Provincial Veterinary Office.
All over the province, the total hog deaths in 126 affected barangays of 16 local government units further rose to 12,139, or 9.26 percent of the total swine population in Negros Occidental.
San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara disclosed that the municipal government has allocated P2 million for financial aid to hog raisers affected by the swine diseases.
There were no ASF cases reported in San Enrique town, only hog cholera and other swine diseases, according to Tubillara.
Included in the PVO top 5 list in terms of the number of pig casualties were Bago City with 2,264, Valladolid, – 2,132, Pontevedra – 1,204, EB Magalona – 908, and Pulupandan – 803.*
