By Christine Fabro
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on Monday, March 20, confirmed the detection of African swine fever (ASF) in five areas in Cebu province.
In a statement, BAI reported that the deadly and highly contagious hog disease was found in Cebu City, Liloan, Sibonga, Tuburan, and Bogo City.
“The BAI continues to coordinate with DA Regional Field Office VII and LGUs to gather data and reports on other areas with suspected cases of ASF as part of a traceback investigation to determine the extent of the outbreak in the province,” the statement read.
“Awareness campaigns and meetings are carried out to ensure that the implementers are aware of what to do so as to prevent further spread of ASF, what to expect when there is an ASF positive area, and what they can do to contain the ASF virus,” it further read.
To date, there are no available vaccines yet to curb the spread of ASF among hogs.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia earlier called on the coordination among the province’s local chief executives, Department of Agriculture, and Philippine National Police in addressing the ASF in the province. – gb
