'BANTAY ASF'. Personnel from different local government units in Negros Oriental province are currently attending an orientation and training on surveillance and response processes in the wake of the African swine fever occurrence in the country. Actual field demonstrations are done in at least two towns by resource persons from the Bureau of Animal Industry. (Photo courtesy of Capitol PIO)
DUMAGUETE CITY – A team of specialists from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is in Negros Oriental province to conduct training on surveillance and blood sample collection of pigs amid the ongoing African swine fever (ASF) scare in some parts of the country.
Marlon Mapula, Assistant Focal Person of the Provincial Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday that the ongoing training will equip personnel from the different agriculture and veterinary offices in the towns and cities to undertake blood sample collection of pigs at their level.
“We only have one laboratory here and it takes longer to have the test results out if our personnel at the PVO will also do the blood sample collection,” Mapula said in mixed English and Cebuano.
He said the shipment of hogs from Negros Oriental to areas outside the province now requires a negative blood sample result.
The delayed release of the results would mean a delay in local hog suppliers’ shipment of their farm animals to their intended destinations, he pointed out.
Sometimes, they have to send blood samples to Cebu or other nearby places for laboratory testing prior to releasing a certification to the hog suppliers, he added.
The province of Negros Oriental, which still remains ASF-free, can ship out pigs, pork, and by-products to other areas although requirements vary, depending on the destination.
The “Orientation and Training on the Conduct of Disease Investigation Surveillance and Disease Emergency Response to African Swine Fever” reeled off Monday and will end on Thursday, spearheaded by the Provincial Veterinary Office.
Resource persons from BAI are Dr. Joshua Cruz, science research specialist II/Visayas ASF Field Coordinator; Dr. Christian Baquigan, Veterinary 3, North Luzon ASF Field Coordinator; Mr. Lance Lemuel Pascua, science research specialist II/ASF communication team; and livestock inspectors Jerwin Bergado, Dominador Perjes Jr., and Reymart Pumasin.
Surveillance activities and actual demonstrations are held in Valencia on Tuesday and in Sibulan on Wednesday for hog raisers who would like to have their animals tested, Mapula said. (PNA)
