Six regions in the country are currently affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF), the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) disclosed on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
“As of Nov. 25, the areas with active ASF cases are regions I, III, IV-A, VI, VIII, and XII,” Dr. Samuel Joseph Castro, national deputy coordinator of the National ASF Prevention and Control program, said during a “Laging Handa” briefing.
According to Castro, the program to combat ASF must extend from the national level and down to the barangays.
“We also have what we call biosecurity, napakaimportante po ‘no. Biosecurity, which is iyon pong pagpapatibay po na siguradong hindi makapasok po ang virus papunta po sa ating mga babuyan (We also have what we call biosecurity, it's very important. Biosecurity, which is the confirmation that the virus cannot enter our piggeries),” he said.
Lani Plata Serna, supervising science research specialist at the BAI, said there would be a slight shortage of pork supply.
“er sa ating data ng Department of Agriculture, as of Oct. 20, 2022 po, ayon po sa hogs supply outlook na kanilang ginawa, magkakaroon po ng bahagyang kakulangan sa karne ng baboy sa kasalukuyan pong quarter ng taon (According to the data of the Department of Agriculture as of Oct. 20, 2022, based on our hogs supply outlook, there would be a slight shortage of pork in the current quarter of the year),” she said.
She said the country now has a 95 percent sufficiency level of pork supply, which is lower than the third quarter.
“May 95 percent sufficiency level po tayo; mababa po ito kumpara sa quarter three, kung saan may 121 percent sufficiency level po tayo (We have a 95 percent sufficiency level; this is low compared to quarter three, where we have 121 percent sufficiency level),” said Serna.
“So, sa kasalukuyan po mas pinaiigting pa natin ang iba nating mga proyekto tulad ng repopulation po (As of the meantime, we are currently intensifying our other projects such as repopulation).”
ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting domestic and feral swine of all ages, according to the US Department of Agriculture.