ILOILO – The town of San Miguel – adjacent to Oton where the first cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in this province were logged – has also confirmed cases of ASF.
San Miguel’s Mayor Marina Luz Gorriceta said blood samples from four hogs in Barangay San Jose tested positive for ASF.
The town’s Sangguniang Bayan (SB), upon the recommendation of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), declared a state of calamity during yesterday’s regular session.
The municipal government is poised to use a portion of its calamity fund for measures to contain the spread of the hog disease as well as to aid affected hog farmers.
San Miguel is the second area in Iloilo and in Western Visayas affected by ASF and declared under a state of calamity next to Oton.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Press Secretary, in a news release dated Sunday, Oct. 23, said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6 to test all pig breeding sites in the region to control the spread of ASF.
The directive was issued during DA-6’s briefing of the President about ASF in Iloilo on Sunday in Bacolod City.
The President said all measures to prevent its spread are already in place, including banning pork products from infested areas.
According to him, testing all breeding farms for ASF is one of the most effective ways of controlling the spread of the infection.
OTON ASF CASES SPREAD TO 23 BARANGAYS
On the other hand, according to Iloilo provincial veterinarian Dr. Darel Tabuada, 23 barangays in Oton now have confirmed cases of ASF, affecting 63 hog farmers.
These are Bita Norte, Caboloan Norte, Caboloan Sur, Sta. Monica, Bita Sur, Abilay Norte, Galang, Tagbak Norte, Buray, Sta. Rita, San Antonio, Poblacion South, Pakiad, Poblacion West, Mambog, Batuan Ilaya, Sta. Clara, Sambaludan, Calamaisan, Cadinglian, Salngan, Batuan Ilaud, and Botong.
The number of samples tested positive for ASF also climbed to 122 out of 331 total samples tested at the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
So far, Tabuada said, 614 hog heads have been depopulated out of the 1,106 heads. The remaining will also be subjected to depopulation.
Also, from a one-kilometer radius, the infected or containment area in Oton would be expanded to seven from ground zero.
Tabuada noted that the local taskforce, in coordination with concerned agencies and the provincial government, is continuously conducting surveillance on pink areas to check if there are spillover cases.
Based on DA Administrative Order 02-2020, under the ASF color-coding scheme, areas under pink (buffer) zone includes municipalities or cities where ASF is not detected but demarcated immediately around the red zone when an area has been confirmed as an infected zone.
The pink zone is aimed at preventing and managing spillover of cases from the red (infected) zone through risk mitigation measures such as biosecurity and surveillance.
The provincial government is also pooling its resources to help the affected hog farmers in town.
Tabuada said that as per discussion with Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., the affected farmers (per family) will be given financial assistance aside from possible aid from the DA, among others./PN
