TACLOBAN CITY – The local government of Palo, Leyte has extended the temporary ban on the selling of pork meat and pork products until Feb. 17 to curb the spread of African swine fever (ASF).
Palo town Mayor Frances Ann Petilla issued Executive Order (EO) No. 10 on Sunday, which also bans the slaughtering of pigs in the municipal abattoir and in the entire town.
The temporary ban of slaughterhouse operation was first directed on Feb. 3 to 6 for the conduct of disinfection and sanitation.
The order also prohibits transporting pigs in and out of the town.
The EO is an extension of the previous directive, which was issued on Feb. 8 by the mayor to prevent the further spread of ASF found in Baras village on Jan. 31. The old directive took effect until Feb. 13.
To enforce the order, Petilla asked their chief of police, auxiliary traffic office, and the local agriculture office to intensify their border control and checkpoints to prevent the transport of live pigs in and out of the town.
Hog raisers and backyard hog raisers located within one kilometer of the confirmed positive ASF area are also advised to monitor the condition of their swine or hogs for possible ASF symptoms.
Those with hogs or swine that manifest symptoms should be immediately reported to the municipal agriculture office.
These symptoms include high fever, weakness and difficulty of standing, vomiting, diarrhea, red and blue blotches on the skin particularly around ears and snout, and coughing or labored breathing.
Earlier, Petilla asked town and village authorities to monitor and conduct surveillance on the ASF zoning and movement and to report it to the provincial and regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) if there are suspected ASF cases.
The village chiefs are also ordered to conduct livestock and poultry registration in their respective communities and to submit data to the local agriculture office for monitoring, prevention, and control measures.
Village officials are also told to issue a registration that the hog raiser is a resident of their barangay and the pigs they own have originated and raised in their area.
The DA said ASF has been present in the towns of Abuyog, La Paz, Javier, Dulag, Tanauan, Palo, and MacArthur. (PNA)