Three towns in Occidental Mindoro have recorded new confirmed cases of African Swine Fever (ASF), the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) bared on Monday, Jan. 22.
This prompted local government units (LGUs) to perform extensive surveillance, depopulate diseased hogs, and implement preventive culling in afflicted areas, according to the report from the BAI.
Department of Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesasaid blood samples sent earlier this month to BAI confirmed seven ASF cases in San Jose and five in Sta. Cruz, and two cases in the municipality of Rizal as of Jan. 17.
“BAI also detected on Monday recurrence of a positive case in Naujan, keeping the Oriental Mindoro town under tight monitoring and movement of hogs within town limits,” he said.
On January 12, BAI confirmed ASF cases in Occidental Mindoro, a few days after a couple of barangays in Sta. Cruz and San Jose reported an unusually high number of pig deaths.
According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), it is currently waiting for requests from LGUs to activate additional surveillance groups and from affected farmers for the indemnification of slaughtered hogs.
“The DA pays P5,000 for each slaughtered swine due to AFS, with the limit at 20 heads of pigs,” it stated.
Under the regulations of the agriculture department, a town is put in the red zone even if only one barangay tests positive, limiting hog movement in the area.
“Tighter mobility restrictions are imposed if two or more barangays test positive for the virus,” the agency stated.
The BAI noted that ASF cases on the island were first detected in Oriental Mindoro late last year.