ANTIQUE – The municipal government eyes placing Hamtic under a state of calamity due to African Swine Fever (ASF).
Four blood samples collected by the Antique Provincial Veterinary Office were positive for the hog disease based on the convective polymerase chain reaction tests for ASF conducted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6’s Regional Animal Diseases and Diagnostic Laboratory.
“Akon ginakasubonga positive sa ASF angaton gin-submit nga specimen. Kita makipag-angotsamganatungdanngaahensyaparasamgamasunodngatikangngaatonpaga-obrahon. Magapagwa man kitakangsangka Executive Order parasa guidelines parasadyangahitabokagatonhangyu-on ngakitamapa-idalomsa state of calamity tungodsa ASF,” said Mayor Julius Ronald L. Pacificador.
The mayor urged the public to follow protocols and measures to avoid the further spread of the hog disease. He also assured that the local government would provide financial assistance to affected hog raisers.
As of June 16, 22 out of 47 barangays in Hamtic were affected by ASF, recording 1,189 hog deaths and over P11 million in losses.
These hog deaths were from barangays EBJ (430), Pu-ao (116), Guintas (150), Dangcalan (80), Piapi I (70), Caridad (58), Calala (58), Linaban (56), Piapi II (40), Ingwan-Batangan (29), Funda (25), Budbudan (16), Bia-an (14), Poblacion 2 (10), Poblacion 3 (nine), Poblacion 4 (eight), Bongbingan III (seven), Igbical (six), Poblacion 5 (three), Malandog (two), Vilavert- Jimenez (one), and Poblacion (one).
Out of the 1,189 hog deaths, there were 220 sows, 34 boars, 503 fatteners, and 432 piglets.
DA-6 officer-in-charge regional executive director Jose Albert Barrogo, in his letter to Gov. RhodoraCadiao and provincial veterinarian Dr. Florencio Macuja, recommended the following measures against the hog disease:
* implement quarantine and disease control measures within the affected premises immediately;
* cull and dispose of all remaining hogs properly in the affected areas;
* conduct disease investigation, especially contract tracing;
* conduct field surveillance and sample collection in all farm households with susceptible animals within the one-kilometer quarantine zone from the infected area; and
* coordinate with the concerned LGU and other agencies or offices for the implementation of other necessary disease control measures in the area of concern as stipulated in the BAI guidelines.
“It is up to them to implement or modify ang protocols based saila locality. Pero mostly angpinaka-effective ngamahimo is to contain angpaglapta sang virus, especially sa ground zero,” said Barrogo.
The regional director also appealed to commercial and backyard hog farmers in Antique to strictly impose biosecurity measures.
“Monitor man nilaangilababoy, shield off man nilailatangkal— dapatisalangkatawoangmaka-access. Conduct sila basic disinfection, and as much as possible, kon may screen ukon mosquiterohan nilaangilatangkalngaindimasulod sang lamokkaglangawkagiban pa ngasapatkay those are possible carriers,” Barrogo said.
Aside from the hog raisers, he also appealed to the general consumers to be aware and refrain from bringing meat from one place to another to avoid the spread of ASF./PN
