Nearly 8,000 pigs have been culled in Batangas since the deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) struck the province in August, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed on Monday, Sept. 16.
“[A total of] 7,900 hogs were already depopulated sa (in) Batangas [as of September 6],” Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa, the spokesperson of the DA, told the Manila Bulletin.
According to him, ASF has been detected in 96 barangays across Batangas.
De Mesa said they recently observed an upward trend in the number of barangays in the province reporting ASF cases.
“Base doon sa report ng BAI (Bureau of Animal and Industry), may mga bagong munisipyo na dagdag sa Batangas. So ‘yung mga bagong munisipyo ay Mabini, Nasugbu, Malbar, San Pascual, Balayan and Alitagtag (Based on the report from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), new municipalities have been added to the list of areas with ASF infections in Batangas. These municipalities include Mabini, Nasugbu, Malvar, San Pascual, Balayan, and Alitagtag),” he said.
As of September 6, the spokesperson of the agriculture department reported that a total of 472 barangays are currently experiencing active cases of ASF.
Meanwhile, the DA clarified that the six hogs inoculated with the ASF vaccine in Batangas died because of their preexisting conditions, not because of the vaccine.
“Anim ang namatay. Isa ay napilayan sa isang farm. Doon sa kabilang farm, lima ‘yung namatay, may sakit na, kumabaga may comorbidity. Mayroon pulmonary ailments that were not disclosed before the injections (Six died. One was crippled in a farm. In the other farm, five hogs died, they were already sick, and it seems they had comorbidity. There are pulmonary ailments that were not disclosed before the injections),” said De Mesa.
De Mesa said the result of the blood test of the pigs inoculated with the ASF vaccine will come out this week.
The test conducted by the agency seeks to find out if the ASF vaccine given to the hogs has effectively produced antibodies.
On Aug. 30, the DA started the vaccination of hogs against ASF in Lobo, Batangas.
The spokesperson said the agriculture department prioritized vaccinating small-hold and backyard hog-raisers in Batangas.
Earlier, the DA raised indemnification for diseased hogs surrendered for culling, raising the compensation ceiling to ₱12,000 for breeders from the previous maximum of ₱5,000.
The government has allocated ₱300 million to purchase 600,000 doses of the ASF vaccine from Vietnam.