The Provincial Veterinary Office is closely monitoring pig deaths in Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, June 16.
“We are closely monitoring this, and so far there are no reports of massive mortalities,” he said of the reported pig deaths in southern Negros Occidental.
“There are cases of mortality, but so far we can attribute them to changing weather conditions,” Lacson said.
The deaths are unlike before when African Swine Fever hit and the pig deaths were massive, Lacson added. “In this case right now, they are isolated cases in different areas.”
Lacson said the provincial government has instructed that pigs that die should be buried immediately. The provincial government is also providing lime and disinfectant, he added.
Dr. Placeda Lemana, Provincial Veterinarian, said samples from the pig fatalities were not taken for laboratory examination to determine the actual cause of death. Field technicians are attributing the deaths to weather conditions as symptoms point to pneumonia, she said.
They are conducting massive surveillance and have advised local government unit technicians to report alarming cases in their areas so samples can be taken to determine the cause of death, Lemana said.
She also stressed the need for them to follow animal health and control program guidelines, as well as biosecurity measures.
Pastor Ric Lauron, president of the Alliance of Hog Raisers Associations of Negros Occidental, said pig deaths were reported in Himamaylan, Kabankalan, and Ilog, raising concern among their members.
While there are reports that a lot of pigs died, they do not have a definitive figure on how many or what the cause of death was, he said.
“They do not know if it is a recurrence of African Swine Fever, they are not in the authority to speculate,” Lauron said.*
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