By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
LAOAG CITY—The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) here is urging
all concerned residents to watch for new pig arrivals in their respective barangays
and report any unusual death of pigs, if any.
Dr. Loida Valenzuela, PVO provincial veterinarian, said African
swine fever (ASF), the fatal viral animal disease affecting pigs of all ages continues
to spread in various parts of the country, hence the need to stay vigilant.
Based on the Bureau of Animal Industry’s latest Zoning and
Movement Plan against ASF, Ilocos Norte is “light green” which means the
province belongs to the protected zone category.
In view of this, Dr. Valenzuela said the province’s quarantine
checkpoints are strictly monitoring the entry of pigs and its byproducts from
outside the province to ensure the province remains ASF-free.
“As you may have read, ASF outbreaks continue to affect other
provinces. We already have cases in Camarines Sur, Kalinga and Benguet. Isabela
has already nine towns affected and we don't know when will it happen in Ilocos
Norte,” Dr. Valenzuela noted.
As a precautionary measure, the PVO has advised all mayors in the
province to mobilize barangay officials to help in the monitoring of new pig
arrival in their respective barangays and to report immediately any unusual
mortalities of pigs in their respective areas.
“We also advise the public not to feed swill from carinderias,
restaurants, hotels and resorts, and even table food scraps if pork is present.
Plant source swill is okay as long as it is cooked for 30 minutes at 70 degrees
Celsius,” she added.
The PVO has also recommended to punong barangays to issue
certifications on pig/s going out of their barangay either for slaughter or
grow-out that they know personally the owner and that their animal/s were
raised in that barangay for traceback purposes in any.
Geotagging of farms for purposes of the one-kilometer radius is
also encouraged among owners.
The PVO also urged Ilocos Norte residents to buy breeder pigs
from the Bureau of Animal Industry–certified farms, feeding of plant-based
swill, observing biosecurity, putting wheel foot disinfectant bath, and
installing effective fly and rodent control system in hog farms.
They are also conducting intensive implementation of quarantine
guidelines, document compliance of shipments, surveillance sampling, and
disease investigation to safeguard the province against the possible entry of
infected swine products.
“Reporting of unusually high pig mortalities in your area will
also help us in our anti-ASF measures,” Dr. Valenzuela noted.
The reoccurrence of ASF, a contagious hemorrhagic viral disease
of domestic and wild pigs, has already spread on parts of mainland Luzon and
Mindanao.
The provincial government has so far ordered a temporary
restriction of shipments of swine and its products to Ilocos Norte from the
following ASF-hit provinces: Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac,
Isabela, Benguet, Kalinga, Davao Occidental, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, and
Sulu.
Also included in the list of restricted areas are several towns
in Aurora, Cavite, Quezon, Bataan, Pangasinan, and Metro Manila.
“We urge our hog raisers to stay vigilant. Let us maintain Ilocos
Norte as ASF-free province,” Dr. Valenzuela stressed.
On October 14, 2019, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc
signed Executive Order No. 30-19, which created the “Task Force ASF–Free Ilocos
Norte”
The task force implements the protective and remedial measures
against the adverse effects of the swine disease in the province. (With a report from Blessing Angel V.
Agliam)
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