By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Councilor Bart Orola, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Markets, recently filed a resolution requesting the city government to form a task force to prevent the spread of African swine fever. According to the city official, the group is necessary in order to ensure the virus does not enter the city.

He pointed out, even without recorded cases in the city or Negros Occidental, the city government needs to act in order to protect the local hog industry.

Orola added, the consumption of imported pork products cannot be avoided as imported pork is currently cheaper than local pork.

Earlier, the Negros Occidental provincial government formed a similar task force, which aims to prevent the entry of swine fever in the province.

The task force is led by the Provincial Veterinary Office, which had been placed on heightened alert earlier this week after the Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday that hog samples taken from pig farms in Luzon tested positive for African swine fever.

The provincial government has since placed a temporary ban on the entry of pork products originating from Luzon.

Based on studies conducted by veterinarians outside the Philippines, the infection is believed to originate from ornithodoros, a type of soft-bodied tick.

Hogs are infected after they are bitten by the tick, which then contaminates their blood.

The virus has no effect on humans but there is a need for strict monitoring at airports and seaports in order to prevent the virus from entering the country./DGB, WDJ