By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga 

Nineteen local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental have already been affected by hog mortalities, the latest monitoring from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) showed.

Cauayan town is now the latest addition to the list of affected LGUs, PVO data said.

Barangays Mambugsay and Inayawan in Cauayan have reported 61 hog mortalities.

As of Tuesday, July 4, hog deaths due to hog cholera and other swine diseases have now reached 15,726, with losses exceeding P178 million.

A total of 3,262 hog raisers in five districts’ 148 barangays have been affected.

However, the province’s first district remains free from swine deaths.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson believes pig mortality cases have started to decline.

“We’re just happy that the mortality has greatly been reduced from the initial 400 plus [daily],” Lacson said.

“It’s now less than 150. All we did was just follow the protocols implemented by the BAI [Bureau of Animal Industry]. We were not remiss in that,” he added.

The governor hopes there will come a time when no more deaths will be recorded.

“We’re hoping for that day and we can start cleaning up the areas. I think that’s for the next three months,” he said.

Lacson will prioritize the disinfection of the hog breeding areas before starting the repopulation process, ensuring that it will not be affected by any diseases.

“If there are still mortalities, we will stop. In the meantime, we will concentrate on other livestock,” he said.

He also mentioned that the sentinel program of the Department of Agriculture, which is being considered to begin in Victorias City, may take several months before it qualifies for repopulation.

The cities of Cadiz, Silay, Talisay, Bago, La Carlota, Himamaylan, and Kabankalan; and the municipalities of Manapla, E.B. Magalona, Murcia, San Enrique, Valladolid, Pulupandan, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, Isabela, and Ilog have recorded swine deaths over the past weeks./With reports from PNA / DGB, WDJ