ILOILO City – The spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in infected areas in Iloilo province, particularly in the towns of Oton and San Miguel, has slowed down.
According to Iloilo provincial veterinarian, Dr. Darel Tabuada, aside from measures and restrictions put in place, one of the factors for the slowing down of the spread of infection is the decrease in the population of hogs.
Oton was the first town in Iloilo province and in Western Visayas to log positive cases of ASF. So far, 31 of its 37 barangays recorded 206 samples positive for ASF.
According to Tabuada, for several days already, no ASF cases were logged in these infected barangays except the latest case in Barangay Lambuyao over a week ago.
“One big factor gid sa paghagan-hagan sang mga kaso ang pagnubo sang ila hog head inventory. Gamay na lang ang baboy, laka-laka na, that is why ang transmission sang virus manubo,” Tabuada explained.
Aside from this, hog farmers especially those into backyard hog farming also practiced bio-security measures.
Based on the initial discussion of the provincial ASF Task Force with the local government unit of Oton, there are more or less 40 percent of hog population left in Oton. As of Dec. 1, a total of 898 hog heads have been depopulated in town.
“This is why gaproblema man ang Oton. Lapit na lang ang fiesta nila. Nangayo sila advise sa aton kon pwede makapasulod sang baboy didto sa ila halin sa iban nga areas, especially from pink zones para may ihawon man sila,” said Tabuada.
Based on the executive order of Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. relative to ASF, the entry and exit of hogs and pork products are prohibited in red zone areas. However, according to the provincial veterinarian, “May ara na consideration.”
“Indi man na hambal nga indi gid pwede kay gina-monitor man na siya kon may sufficient supply. Ang purpose sang ‘no in’ nga na is para i-consume anay sang municipality ang mga baboy dira. Pero kon makita nga kulang gid man ila supply, mapasulod na lang kita,” Tabuada said.
Aside from Oton, the spread of infection also slowed down in San Miguel. Several hog farms were depopulated three weeks ago yet.
“Nakita naton nga nagnubu-nubo pero nag-infect naman siya sa iban nga areas, for example ang case naton sa Coline (Alimodian), kay lapit ‘ni siya sa municipality of San Miguel,” Tabuada added.
So far, through Defensor’s Executive Order No. 460-D, six towns were declared as red zones with the towns of Santa Barbara and Alimodian added to the list.
Aside from Barangay Balabag, ASF cases have also been confirmed in barangays San Sebastian, Tig-tig, Buyo, Café, and Nasugban in Santa Barbara while in Alimodian, there are now two barangays with positive cases – Buhay and the newest, Coline.
The first four towns declared as red zones were Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, and New Lucena.
Meantime, no more positive cases have been reported in the town of Mina after logging positive cases in Barangay Janipaan East. The six samples collected in other areas in the town all turned out negative for ASF.
Despite the slowdown of infection, Tabuada said repopulation of hogs which will start in Oton ground zero is still far from happening because there are still hog infections in other areas in the province.
“As long as may mga kaso dira nga area, indi pa kita sina ka-start repopulation. Damu pa na siya proseso nga agyan before kita maka-sentinel pigs. Kon tan-awon ta sa timeline, indi pa siya matabu sa subong nga tuig or sunod nga tuig,” Tabuada explained.
The provincial veterinarian explained that once the cases are wiped out, they will repopulate the ground zero in Oton with sentinel hogs to check if there are still a presence of the virus.
“We will look at the actual picture first, especially sa mga adjacent municipalities kay for example, maski wala na kaso ang Oton kag kon may ara pa kaso ang iban nga mga areas nga ingod sang Oton, indi man gihapon kita maka-start sina. Kay ti, ang problema naton sina basi ma-infect naman ang aton sentinel pigs halin sa areas nga may infection pa,” Tabuada added./PN
