THE LOCAL government is strictly implementing safety measures to ensure that Zamboanga remains free from the African swine fever or ASF despite the humungous work it is currently doing in combating the spread new coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic.
Mayor Beng Climaco said the City Veterinary Office continues to strictly implement the Department of Agriculture or DA guidelines of zoning and protocols with regards to the movement, sale, and trade of hogs, pork and pork products to contain the spread of ASF in the country.
Climaco signed early this year the Executive Order 543–2020 in support to the DA guidelines and also in pursuant to President Rodrigo Duterte’s order urging local and national government agencies to harmonize efforts with the DA in stopping the spread of ASF.
Checkpoints have been in placed in entry and exit points in Zamboanga since last year to ensure that no infected hogs and its pork products slip past the city.
She said personnel from the City Veterinarian Office continue to inspect and conduct disinfection of trucks transporting live pigs and other animals to Zamboanga to protect the hog population against the ASF. “Zamboanga City remains free from ASF,” Climaco told The Zamboanga Post.
Climaco said strict protocols are being observed to monitor and regulate the entry of hog and pork products here as a measure against the contagious animal disease.
City Veterinarian Mario Arriola also explained that the zoning and movement plan is a map guiding local governments on where hogs, pork, and pork products can be transported, sold, or traded according to classified zones.
These zones, he said, are based on geographical limits established by authorities upon identification of infected and quarantine zone as well as ASF status of provinces and regions.
Arriola said there are two general zones – containment zone and free zones. The containment zone is further categorized into four zones depending on the area’s ASF status: red (infected zone), yellow (surveillance zone), pink (buffer zone), and light green (protected zone).
He said early this year, DA reported an outbreak of ASF in Davao region and the province is considered under the red zone, meaning no pork product from the Davao region is allowed to enter any province or region in Mindanao.
Arriola echoed Climaco’s statement that Zamboanga remains ASF-free due to the vigilant and stringent measures launched by the local government. The local government, he added, barred the entry of hogs, pork, and pork products from countries and areas with ASF, including pork products that do not have shipping permit and veterinarian certificate.
He previously called on residents to avoid feeding hogs and pigs with swill or kitchen refuse and scraps as this may contain contaminated pork products.
Last September, Climaco organized the “Task Force Karne” with the local government working closely with the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and DA in conducting inspections in support to the national ban on the importation, distribution and sale of all processed pork products from countries infected with the ASF such as China following the breakout of the disease in July 2019, mostly backyard pigs in the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan and then spread elsewhere in Luzon.
The task force is comprised of representatives from City Veterinary Office, National Meat Inspection Service, Task Force Ordinance, and Business Permits and Licensing Division.
The FDA previously ordered the pull-out from the markets of all processed pork products such as luncheon meat imported from Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
AFS is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family. The virus is transmitted to pigs through direct contact with infected pigs, their waste, contaminated clothing, feed, equipment and vehicles, and in some cases, some tick species.
Although ASF cannot be transmitted to humans through contact with pigs or pork, the virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection.
Climaco also reminded personnel manning the checkpoints at the boundaries to always wear face mask and disinfect or wash their hands with soap and water frequently to ensure the safety of their health against Covid-19. (Zamboanga Post)
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Photos by Zamboanga City Veterinary Office show personnel working day and night to ensure Zamboanga remains free from the African swine fever.
Mayor Beng Climaco said the City Veterinary Office continues to strictly implement the Department of Agriculture or DA guidelines of zoning and protocols with regards to the movement, sale, and trade of hogs, pork and pork products to contain the spread of ASF in the country.
Climaco signed early this year the Executive Order 543–2020 in support to the DA guidelines and also in pursuant to President Rodrigo Duterte’s order urging local and national government agencies to harmonize efforts with the DA in stopping the spread of ASF.
Checkpoints have been in placed in entry and exit points in Zamboanga since last year to ensure that no infected hogs and its pork products slip past the city.
She said personnel from the City Veterinarian Office continue to inspect and conduct disinfection of trucks transporting live pigs and other animals to Zamboanga to protect the hog population against the ASF. “Zamboanga City remains free from ASF,” Climaco told The Zamboanga Post.
Climaco said strict protocols are being observed to monitor and regulate the entry of hog and pork products here as a measure against the contagious animal disease.
City Veterinarian Mario Arriola also explained that the zoning and movement plan is a map guiding local governments on where hogs, pork, and pork products can be transported, sold, or traded according to classified zones.
These zones, he said, are based on geographical limits established by authorities upon identification of infected and quarantine zone as well as ASF status of provinces and regions.
Arriola said there are two general zones – containment zone and free zones. The containment zone is further categorized into four zones depending on the area’s ASF status: red (infected zone), yellow (surveillance zone), pink (buffer zone), and light green (protected zone).
He said early this year, DA reported an outbreak of ASF in Davao region and the province is considered under the red zone, meaning no pork product from the Davao region is allowed to enter any province or region in Mindanao.
Arriola echoed Climaco’s statement that Zamboanga remains ASF-free due to the vigilant and stringent measures launched by the local government. The local government, he added, barred the entry of hogs, pork, and pork products from countries and areas with ASF, including pork products that do not have shipping permit and veterinarian certificate.
He previously called on residents to avoid feeding hogs and pigs with swill or kitchen refuse and scraps as this may contain contaminated pork products.
Last September, Climaco organized the “Task Force Karne” with the local government working closely with the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and DA in conducting inspections in support to the national ban on the importation, distribution and sale of all processed pork products from countries infected with the ASF such as China following the breakout of the disease in July 2019, mostly backyard pigs in the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan and then spread elsewhere in Luzon.
The task force is comprised of representatives from City Veterinary Office, National Meat Inspection Service, Task Force Ordinance, and Business Permits and Licensing Division.
The FDA previously ordered the pull-out from the markets of all processed pork products such as luncheon meat imported from Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
AFS is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family. The virus is transmitted to pigs through direct contact with infected pigs, their waste, contaminated clothing, feed, equipment and vehicles, and in some cases, some tick species.
Although ASF cannot be transmitted to humans through contact with pigs or pork, the virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection.
Climaco also reminded personnel manning the checkpoints at the boundaries to always wear face mask and disinfect or wash their hands with soap and water frequently to ensure the safety of their health against Covid-19. (Zamboanga Post)
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