ASF detected in Cebu villages

CEBU CITY – The local government has regulated the movement of live hogs and pork meat in nine villages here due to the presence of African swine fever (ASF).

ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, although it is not a danger to human health, however, it has devastating effects on pig populations and the farming economy. There is currently no effective vaccine against ASF. 

The virus is highly resistant in the environment, meaning that it can survive on clothes, boots, wheels, and other materials. It can also survive in various pork products, such as ham, sausages or bacon. Therefore, human behaviors can play an important role in spreading this pig disease across borders if adequate measures are not taken.

Five of the villages are already categorized as ”under control” against the deadly hog disease, according to Dr. Jessica Maribojoc, head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries in Cebu City. She did not disclose the names of the villages to prevent hog raisers from being victimized by unscrupulous suppliers who buy pigs around the contaminated area at very low prices.

Maribojoc said they require animal delivery vehicles to obtain a livestock certification before they could move out pigs from the affected villages. They also need to secure a “green slip” from the City Agriculture Office confirming that the animals have tested negative for ASF, based on antigen and laboratory tests conducted by the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture 7.

Meanwhile, Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. said the city has put in place a standard operating procedure to limit the movement of both live hogs and pork around the affected villages, in coordination with village officials, the Cebu City Anti-ASF Task Force and the local police. “We gathered the residents in the mountain barangays to educate them of the effect of ASF and the measures established to prevent further spread of the virus," Alcover said.

The city government, he said, has also prepared measures to replenish the dwindling supplies of pork due to the presence of the disease in the nine barangays. He said the city would embark on an alternative livestock dispersal program and distribute goats, chickens, and rabbits to encourage farmers to grow animals other than pigs for food."The city needs to adopt an alternative livestock program for the farmers while ASF is still active," Alcover said. (John Rey Saavedra)