BACOLOD City – The City Veterinary Office (CVO) is encouraging hog raisers to immediately report if their hogs exhibit any signs of hog cholera.
Hog cholera signs include hemorrhages, lethargy, yellowish diarrhea, vomiting, and purple skin discoloration of the ears, lower abdomen, and legs.
City Veterinarian Maria Agueda Trinidad Dela Torre said, “nagapangayo ko sa ila once nga magbatyag ang ila mga hogs pabalo gid sila dayon sa amon so that we can conduct blood sampling kag ma-examine naton,”
When hogs die, the CVO can no longer conduct sampling and testing to determine the cause, she added.
“We will submit it to the province since they are now capable of testing,” Dela Torre said.
This city has recorded hog deaths, but the CVO has yet to conduct confirmatory tests.
Dela Torre also said there is a vaccine for hog cholera and commercial farms use it. But the CVO is not certain if it is also practiced by backyard hog raisers.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez ordered Dela Torre to check backyard hog-raising operations.
“Visit backyard piggeries just to make sure. Let us guarantee the safety of the public,” he said.
In Negros Occidental, cases of hog cholera have already been reported in several municipalities, but the province is still considered African swine fever (ASF)-free.
“As of now, we are still looking at hog cholera because we are not in any position to declare that it is ASF,” Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday.
The governor earlier advised local government units to boost animal biosecurity measures across the province. (With a report from PNA)/PN
