Negros Occidental’s pig population had already recovered from the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak that hit last year, but unfortunately, ASF has resurfaced, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, July 1.
“So we have to go back to the same [biosecurity measures]. We will have to start from scratch,” he said.
“We will have to disinfect our areas and go slow on repopulation,” Lacson added.
He noted that after ASF hit last year, the pig industry had recovered and hog production was almost back to its original level.
However, a total of 1,902 pigs have died from various diseases across 12 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental as of June 25, Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana said on Tuesday.
These mortalities represent 3.27 percent of the total hog population in the affected areas.
Lemana noted that authorities cannot definitively attribute all the deaths to ASF since many of the hogs were not tested.
However, clinical signs and symptoms exhibited by the dead pigs closely resembled both ASF and hog cholera, she said.*
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