ILOILO – This province has tightened inspections on all incoming swine shipments and ordered hog raisers to strengthen biosecurity measures amid renewed concerns over African Swine Fever (ASF), a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs but not humans, following reports of unexplained pig deaths in Dumangas town and a resurgence of cases in neighboring Negros Occidental.
The provincial government, through the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPVet), has intensified monitoring at ports of entry and deployed collection teams to obtain blood samples from all incoming pigs to ensure they are free from ASF before entering the province.
The move comes as authorities investigate the deaths of several pigs from at least five backyard hog raisers in Dumangas.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Darel Tabuada said investigators are still tracing the circumstances surrounding the deaths to determine whether the animals showed symptoms consistent with ASF or other diseases before they died.
ASF may cause high fever, loss of appetite, weakness, red or blotchy skin lesions, diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, difficulty breathing, abortion in pregnant sows, or sudden death. Because the disease can spread rapidly among pigs and can cause heavy losses to hog raisers, early reporting, testing and strict farm sanitation remain critical.
The investigation has been complicated by the fact that the affected pigs were immediately buried by their owners, making laboratory testing impossible. Nevertheless, Tabuada said precautionary measures have already been put in place to protect the province’s recovering swine industry.
“Nag-install naman kita liwat sang collection team, nagapang–kolekta na kita sang dugo sa tanan nga incoming nga mga baboy halin sa other areas pakadto diri sa probinsya sang Iloilo to ensure nga safe sila kag wala sila sang dala nga balatian pakadto sa aton,” hambal ni Tabuada sa interview sang Panay News.
Tabuada explained that if laboratory tests detect ASF in any shipment, subsequent deliveries from the same source may be barred from entering Iloilo to prevent the disease from spreading to local farms.
He stressed that pig shipments remain allowed, provided traders and raisers can present a negative ASF laboratory result, a veterinary health certificate, and a valid shipping permit.
Beyond stricter port inspections, OPVet is also urging hog raisers to adopt more stringent farm-level biosecurity measures, particularly in areas classified under the green, yellow, and pink ASF zones.
“Ang aton biosecurity measures sa mga farms, it is a must na sa subong, requirement na ina sia kon magsagod sang baboy. Kinahanglan may biosecurity nga kaupod, i-change na ang practice compared sang una, subong ya dapat in place ang biosecurity measures,” added Tabuada.
The veterinarian said farms should have perimeter fencing, footbaths, and sanitation protocols requiring workers to bathe, clean themselves, change clothes, and wear clean slippers before entering pig pens. He also warned against feeding pigs kitchen waste containing pork products, a practice known as swill feeding, which can contribute to the spread of ASF.
Hog raisers can help prevent ASF by limiting visitors to pig pens, disinfecting vehicles, footwear and equipment, separating newly acquired pigs before mixing them with the herd, avoiding swill feeding, buying pigs only from trusted and documented sources, and immediately reporting sick or dead pigs to veterinary authorities instead of burying or disposing of them without proper coordination.
“Ang ASF ara lang gid ina, wala pa gid naton totally na-eliminate ang threat. So, we have to protect our own farms,” said Tabuada.
Despite the lingering threat, Iloilo’s swine inventory has shown signs of recovery, reaching about 90,000 heads as of last week, up from more than 70,000 the previous month.
However, the figure remains far below the province’s pre-ASF inventory of 277,421 heads recorded in September 2022, a month before the disease struck Iloilo.
Currently, Tabuada said municipalities classified under pink, green, and yellow zones have slowly resumed hog raising activities.
The pink zone, or buffer zone, covers municipalities or cities where ASF has not been detected but which are immediately adjacent to confirmed infected areas. The classification is intended to prevent the spillover of ASF cases from red zones through strengthened biosecurity measures and surveillance.
In red zones, strict restrictions are enforced against the movement of live pigs, pork and pork products, including fresh or frozen pork and uncooked processed pork products, except cooked and canned processed pork products. The movement of swine genetic materials is also prohibited until the restrictions are officially lifted.
Yellow, or surveillance, zones refer to municipalities or cities where ASF has not been detected but are adjacent to pink buffer zones.
Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture as of June 5, 2026 showed that only Antique and Guimaras in Western Visayas have no municipalities under the ASF red zone classification, while Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan still have municipalities considered infected./PN
