THE African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in Davao Occidental could have been caused by swill or food waste imported from ASF-hit Indonesia, authorities said Friday.
“Tinitignan ko ‘yung anggulo na baka may swill feeding na galing sa barko from Indonesia,” Department of Agriculture Davao regional director Ricardo Onate Jr. said in a report.
Due to the outbreak, Davao governor Claude Bautista had ordered the depopulation of around 100,000 hogs in the area.
“According to him, kung hindi natin aalisin lahat ng mga baboy, it could be that the virus could just go around Davao Occidental,” explained Office of Davao government head executive assistant Marivic Hubac.
Don Marcelino was considered ground zero for the ASF outbreak. Since Jan. 26, the outbreak had spread to Malita, Santa Maria, and Jose Abad Santos.
The local government said it would give a P5,000 compensation to farmers for every destroyed hog, while the Department of Agriculture had promised a sure-aid loan for affected hog raisers.
Meanwhile, officials have tightened security to prevent the further spread of ASF in Davao del Sur.
At the boundary of Davao Occidental and Davao Del Sur, bus passengers were asked to disembark for a disinfection procedure.
Despite this, ASF cases had been reported in Davao City.
In Barangay Lamanan, the hog death toll had risen to 40 while 200 hogs died in Barangay Dominga, which had been placed under lockdown. (GMA News)
