[FILE PHOTO] Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has banned the entry of hogs and related byproducts from Negros Island until April 5. |CDND File Photo
The Provincial Veterinary Office on Monday, March 6, has confirmed that they have detected the African Swine fever virus from samples of slaughtered pigs in Carcar City.
The findings stemmed from one of the provincial government’s regular ASF surveillances, said Dr. Mary Rose Vincoy, the Provincial Veterinarian.
Vincoy told reporters in a phone interview that the infected samples they had collected came from a slaughterhouse in Carcar City.
These samples were then sent to undergo laboratory tests at the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Animal Disease Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory (ADDRL) on March 1, which later confirmed the presence of the virus.
The Capitol has also conducted further investigation to trace the possible origins of the virus, and they claimed that the infected pigs, shortly before being butchered, apparently mingled with hogs from Negros Island.
As a result, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Monday has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 9 that bans the importation of pigs, pork products and byproducts from Negros Island until April 5.
In the meantime, Vincoy said other samples they collected from the same slaughterhouse turned out negative of the virus.
“Right now, we are doing our best effort to contain the disease,” she added.
The province will also be implementing stricter policies to regulate the movement of live pigs around the province and prevent the disease from spreading to neighboring towns and cities, Vincoy said.
As one of the largest producers of pork products and byproducts, Cebu had rolled out stringent protocols in importing pigs and pork products, byproducts.
Since 2019, the province has banned the entry of live hogs and pork products, byproducts from ASF-hit areas, both domestically and internationally as a measure to protect its P11-billion hog industry.
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