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Cebu City ASF contained but border control stays

By John Rey Saavedra

March 23, 2023, 2:41 pm

<p><em>(PNA file photo by John Rey Saavedra)</em></p>

(PNA file photo by John Rey Saavedra)

CEBU CITY – The African swine fever (ASF) virus has been contained in this capital city but border restrictions against undocumented hogs and pork meat will continue, the city veterinarian said on Thursday.

Dr. Jessica Maribojoc, head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fishery Office, said the city was able to control the further spread of the virus through culling of infected pigs, two days after the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) released on March 20 the result of blood sampling.

"We were able to mobilize our team to act on the reported ASF infection based on the blood collection result,” Maribojoc told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.

The blood sampling, she said, was conducted in 11 villages declared as “hot spots” following the occurrence of symptoms and deaths.

ASF was discovered in a few pigs in a backyard farm in “just one barangay” of the 11 areas declared as hot spots, thus culling was performed to prevent the further spread of the virus.

“We have to justify to BAI based on the definition of infected areas under Administrative Circular 2 that an area is a red zone if there is an ASF outbreak and the virus has spread in other barangays within 15 days,” Maribojoc said, as she explained why color-coded zoning is no longer applicable in the city.

Although the city remains a "green zone" under the National Zoning and Movement Plan for the Prevention and Control of ASF, the city adheres to the executive order of Mayor Michael Rama on the border checkpoints to keep undocumented live hogs and pork meat from the capital, Maribojoc added.

This developed as Governor Gwendolyn Garcia lifted border restrictions for live hogs in the province on March 21, saying there is no ASF outbreak even as BAI released a result of their testing, finding five localities as having infections.

Meanwhile, Barili town Mayor Pablo John Garcia IV told the PNA the weekly livestock auction and trading in Mantalongon resumed on Thursday, following the easing of the border control.

Mantalogon is Cebu’s biggest livestock market where traders from all around Cebu and neighboring provinces in Central Visayas converge every Thursday to sell and buy pigs, cattle, chicken, and goats. (PNA)

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