PREVENTION. After the depopulation of about 77 hogs in infected Barangay Baluan, General Santos City veterinary office chief, Dr. Emilio Gargaran Jr., declares the city free from ASF as of Wednesday (Aug. 3, 2022). Gargaran said stricter measures to prevent the entry of the hog virus are in place around the city. (Photo courtesy of GenSan LGU)
KORONADAL CITY – General Santos City has no more cases of African swine fever (ASF) infection, a veterinary official said Wednesday.
“The last infected hog in the village of Baluan had been culled and per monitoring, no single case of ASF was reported,” said Dr. Emilio Gargaran Jr., acting chief of the city veterinary office (CVO).
Earlier, General Santos Mayor Lorelie Geronimo Pacquiao issued an executive order for strict border controls to prevent and control the spread of ASF in the city.
At least 77 hogs in the village of Baluan have been culled by the CVO as part of effective preventive measures to prevent further infections among local hogs, and spare hog raisers from further losses.
Aside from preemptive depopulation, Gargaran said, a mobile disinfection truck, donated by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), is being used in cleaning and disinfection activities in the area.
He said teams from the CVO and BAI have been deployed to several barangays to conduct continuous surveillance activities.
“It is worthy to note that Baluan and two nearby barangays that we placed under close surveillance are now free of ASF as no new infections have been detected,” Gargaran said.
He said the city government is continuously reminding hog raisers to strictly implement and improve their biosecurity measures to protect their farms from all kinds of disease.
In addition, the CVO also reminded the public of the urgency in reporting abnormalities in their pigs, as this is also key in preventing ASF from spreading to other farms.
“Cooperation and accountability to the community are important concepts among all stakeholders to preserve the city’s hog industry,” Gargaran said. (PNA)
