Digicast Negros

Negros Oriental bans pork products from Cebu, too

The Negros Oriental provincial government has imposed a total ban on pigs, pork, and byproducts from nearby Cebu province following the first reported African swine fever (ASF) case in Carcar City.

The total ban will be in effect for the next 45 days based on an executive order issued on March 3, Ophelia Felisilda, chief operations officer of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday.

“(The late) Governor Degamo signed and issued the executive order on the total ban even before the news of the ASF cases in Carcar City came out, to prevent the swine industry in Negros Oriental from being affected by the animal disease,” she said.

Negros Occidental and Bacolod City also issued a similar ban on Tuesday, March 7, on the entry of pigs and pork products from Cebu province and Bantayan Island.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in Region 7 confirmed the first ASF case in Carcar City, after 58 of 149 pig blood samples tested positive March 1.

The BAI statement said the animals tested were from Negros Island, although it did not specify which of the two provinces – Oriental or Occidental – the pigs came from.

Cebu province has also banned the entry of pigs and pork-related by-products from Negros Island following the detection of ASF cases in Carcar.

Felisilda said that as of March 8, Negros Oriental remains ASF-free, based on reports from 17 of the 25 local government units (LGUs) submitted to the PVO.

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz also said Negros Occidental and Bacolod remain ASF-free.

Although the ASF does not have any health implications on humans, people who eat ASF-infected pork and by-products can be “carriers” of the virus that could spread to the pigs, Felisilda said.*PNA

Exit mobile version
Skip to toolbar