5,000 pigs dead in Negros

BACOLOD CITY – Over 5,000 pigs had died in Negros Occidental province due to Hog Cholera or Classical Swine Fever, a highly contagious, viral disease of swine that in its most virulent form causes morbidity and mortality approaching 100%. 

Jose Albert Barrogo, the acting regional director of the Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas, confirmed the report, citing data provided by the provincial government. “When we talk about the cases of Negros Occidental as reported by the province, this is the biggest issue now,” Barrogo said in a recent radio interview.

He said of the one of two batches of pig blood samples submitted by Negros Occidental to the Department of Agriculture yielded negative results for African Swine Fever (ASF), but it came out positive for Hog Cholera based on the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) confirmatory report. The report on the remaining batch has not come out, he said.

According to a report from the Provincial Veterinary Office, the swine deaths brought an estimated damage or losses of P63.5 million to the local hog industry. Out of the 5,252 deaths, San Enrique town logged the highest number with 1,936 heads, which is equivalent to almost 72% of its total hog population.

Some 406 raisers in the southern Negros locality, located in the Fourth District, have reported losses of more than P22 million. Other affected areas in the same district included Valladolid town with 936 swine deaths; Bago City, 852; Pontevedra town with 461; Pulupandan town, 374; and La Carlota City with 268.

Hog deaths were also reported in the municipalities of E.B. Maglona, Murcia, Manapla, Binalbagan, Hinigaran as well as the cities of Talisay, Cadiz and Silay.

Negros Occidental, tagged as a green zone by the Department of Agriculte for its ASF-free status, has already banned the entry of live pigs, pork meat and pork-related products from the neighboring Negros Oriental, which has reported swine deaths in Dauin town due to ASF.

Having a P6-billion hog industry, Negros Occidental also imposed a total ban on the entry of all live pigs, boar semen, pork, pork products and other pork-related items from Luzon, Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Panay Island and Guimaras Island, which all have reported cases of ASF between 2019 and 2022.

Last March, neighboring Cebu province was included in the ban, including Bantayan Island and Camotes Island, after the ASF virus was detected in Carcar City.

Classical swine fever (CSF) occurs only in swine, and all age groups are susceptible. The disease occurs in most major swine-raising countries where eradication programs have not been successfully implemented. It is caused by a virus of the genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae, which is closely related to the viruses that cause bovine viral diarrhea in cattle and border disease in sheep. (Nanette Guadalquiver)