• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Highly urbanized Bacolod City and the component city of Escalante in Negros Occidental have joined the list of 16 local government units classified as “pink zones” by the Department of Agriculture National African Swine Fever Prevention and Control Program.
Bacolod and Escalante cities were among the ASF red zones (infected zones) in Negros Occidental. The join other local government units included in the list of Department of Agriculture as “pink zones,” namely Kabankalan, San Carlos, Silay, Victorias, Hinigaran, San Enrique La Castellana, Pulupandan, and Valladolid in Negros Occidental, as well as Ayungon, Bais City, Manjuyod, Valencia, and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental.
Pink zones are areas where ASF is currently not present, but are considered high-risk due to their proximity to infected zones, which, according to DA, requires strict monitoring and preventive measures to prevent the infectious disease from spreading further.
Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office officer-in-charge Yasmin Tan, however, clarified that Negros Occidental cannot be classified as ASF free yet, since it is not yet in the “dark green zone” category.
Those LGUs in the pink zones have to apply for the sentineling program of the DA, Tan added.
The sentinel protocol checks if after 40 days, ASF is still present among the “sentinel piglets” given to them.
The piglets’ survival indicates negative presence of the virus, and they can proceed to the yellow zone, a signal for the start of breeding and repopulation, according to the DA.
Tan said that hogs from ASF infected areas remain prohibited from entering Negros Occidental.*
