The highly contagious and deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) has hit pigs in barangays Guinhalaran and Patag, Silay City Mayor Joedith Gallego said on Monday, June 12.
Gallego said the two barangays were locked down after the two ASF positive test results were released by the Department of Agriculture Region 6 office.
No pigs and pork products are allowed to leave or enter the two barangays to prevent the spread of the disease, Gallego said.
Silay is the fourth local government unit in Negros Occidental with ASF positive cases.
ASF positive pigs had also been detected in Bacolod and Victorias cities and Pulupandan town earlier.
However, Negros Occidental has not been declared an ASF red zone since only a few areas have ASF positive cases, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.
The number of local government units in Negros Occidental hit with pig deaths from various diseases rose to 17 on Monday, the Provincial Veterinary Office said.
The latest addition to the list was Himamaylan City with 19 pig deaths, the PVO report said.
The pig deaths from various diseases in Negros Occidental were 12,355 with P139,041,525 in losses on Monday.
The number of hog raisers affected are 2,342, the PVO said.
The governor said while there are pig deaths on a daily basis, the number per day has gone down.
It is not one singular disease that is the cause of the pig deaths, hog cholera is still prevalent in most cases, Lacson said.
The pig deaths in Negros Occidental are less than 10 percent of the total hog population of the province, the PVO reported.
The provincial government is implementing the Bureau of Animal Industry protocols in case of a pig mortality, Lacson said.
Lacson said Negros Occidental commercial hog raisers are still shipping pigs out of the province but the prices have gone down.
The governor said in the meantime hog raisers are encouraged to sell early while their animals are still healthy and should not wait for the desired weight.
They should also not increase their hog population so the spread of the diseases can be placed under control, the governor said.
The provincial government is trying to identify who among the hog raisers should be provided assistance.
Assistance will be given per family, and not for every dead pig, he said.
The governor said he hopes the pig deaths do not reach the level where a state of calamity will have to be declared.
Such a declaration would probably be made if 50 percent of the province’s hog population is hit, Lacson said.
It’s only June and every year we get hit by typhoons so it is not prudent to immediately tap the province’s calamity funds, Lacson said.
In Bacolod City, the dumping of six dead piglets in a river in Barangay Vista Alegre on Sunday was being investigated. It was stressed that proper protocols should be observed in the disposal of dead pigs to prevent the spread of diseases.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said hog raisers in the city should be registered in the barangays to be entitled to assistance if their pigs are hit with diseases.*
