By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

African swine fever (ASF) has now entered Negros Occidental’s San Carlos City after the locality recorded its first case of the hog illness yesterday morning.

San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo said they immediately collected hog blood samples from dead pigs after they recorded 16 hog deaths from barangays Bulwangan and Rizal.

He added that the hogs were noted to have symptoms of ASF.

The specimen from Barangay Rizal tested positive.

Gustilo said the villages which experienced the recent hog deaths have been cordoned off.

Hog raisers were also advised to dispose of their pigs, including healthy ones, to avoid major losses.

San Carlos City, with a swine population of more than 16,000, became the first local government unit to confirm ASF cases in the first district.

On Tuesday, July 11, the Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed 18 ASF cases in Negros Occidental.

Kabankalan City logged 16 ASF cases in Barangay 6 (with 13), Barangay Linao (two) and Barangay Binicuil (one).

Two other cases were recorded in Hinigaran town, with one each from barangays Gargato and Camba-og.

Hog mortalities have reached 16,361, or almost 10 percent of the 164,334 total hog population, with losses at P186,633,250, affecting 151 barangays in 20 localities in Negros Occidental. 

Despite the hog mortalities, the province was still able to ship out more than 10,000 live pigs to other provinces.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson assured Negrenses that hog diseases, particularly hog cholera and ASF, were being contained.

The supply of pork and pork products remains sufficient, he said./DGB, WDJ