ILOILO City – Of the three provinces in Western Visayas with African Swine Fever (ASF) cases, the island province of Guimaras is deemed the top candidate for hog repopulation.
Manageability is a factor, according to Regional Veterinary Quarantine Officer John Roel Hilario of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
“Of the three provinces nga infected – Iloilo, Capiz and Guimaras – ang Guimaras ang perhaps feasible to be considered nga No. 1 candidate for recovery and repopulation because island siya,” said Hilario.
He added, “We can take advantage of the geographical situation of Guimaras para ma-manage ang disease on that island.”
As of Monday, March 27, data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6 showed eight barangays from the municipalities of Buenavista and Jordan have active cases of ASF.
The province logged 56 swine population with positive samples and has depopulated 140 hog heads.
DA-6 regional executive director Jose Albert Barrogo said there is a standard process in the conduct of hog repopulation.
“Right now gina-process naton kon diin nga local government unit ang ready for repopulation,” said Barrogo.
He emphasized, however, the repopulation starts from sentineling or “planting” hog sentinels in the affected area, observing and checking. If the hogs get sick, the virus is still present.
“So naka-ready na dira ang DA. But we are following the protocols kon san-o kami pwede mag-sentinel sa amo sina nga area,” Barrogo added.
Meanwhile, Hilario noted that apart from the infected areas, a focus as well of the recovery program are the ASF-free areas.
“Kasi nga it would be challenging for the infected areas because they have to be cleared first from the previous infection. Pero ang mga ASF-free areas if we support them, they can readily produce their hogs and these hogs can support the infected areas,” he explained.
Hilario added that repopulation is quite easier for commercial farms because of favorable environment compared to backyard hog farms which is more challenging.
He further explained that commercial farms, although they are in ASF red zone area, are able to secure their farm and comply with the necessary documents to ship their hogs.
“For backyard farm, mas challenging siya because it requires the compliance of every backyard farm. Ang problem is sa surveillance alone. Not everyone is cooperative that is why when it comes to compliance on recovery ta, medyo mabudlayan gid ang mga towns and cities,” Hilario added./PN
