BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Losses due to hog cholera and other swine diseases in Negros Occidental have reached P88.2 million as of Monday.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson maintained that except in this city, African swine fever (ASF) has not been detected in the 31 towns and cities in Negros Occidental even though 7,202 pigs have died.
Lacson noted that the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Bureau of Animal Industry has not declared the province as ASF-affected.
The hog deaths represent 6.64 percent of the swine population in Negros Occidental. Up to 1,498 hog raisers in 118 barangays were affected.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez had earlier ordered the culling of pigs within a 500-meter radius of the affected area in Barangay Taculing.
Bacolod recorded its first cases of ASF after two hogs reportedly from Bago City tested positive for the virus.
Provincial veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana said there could be a “localized infection” of ASF since the DA regional office did not record a positive case when it completed surveillance and swabbing of hogs in Bago.
Lemana said the infected pigs had been in Barangay Taculing for two weeks when they tested positive for ASF.
“If the virus came from Bago, the pigs would have died before blood samples were taken last Friday,” she said.
Lemana said ASF has an incubation period of seven to 14 days, during which a pig will show symptoms and ultimately die.
Lacson said that the protocols followed by the province are now “geared toward addressing whatever is the virus present.”
“It doesn’t matter what kind of virus. We have taken steps to protect each local government unit,” he said.