Dr. Karen Merilles, city veterinarian, said Monday, March 6, 2023, that they submitted at least 153 blood samples extracted from the city’s pig farms through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and all tested negative.
Merilles said they continue to submit test samples, but BAI has not confirmed yet if some tested positive for the ASF virus.
On February 27, a news outlet from Bohol reported that at least 3,600 pigs died in December 2022 in Barangay Cadulawan, Minglanilla town, as relayed by a Cebuano broadcaster in verification with the barangay’s captain.
Aside from Minglanilla, the report also mentioned about alarming pig deaths recorded in the towns of San Fernando, Carcar, Barili, Sibonga, Pinamungahan, Toledo, Liloan, Consolacion, Malaboyog, and Mandaue City.
But Merilles said they had not received such information in the city.
She said there are several reasons aside from ASF that could contribute to pigs getting sick, and one is the intermittent weather.
Merilles said they continue to monitor and do surveillance checks of the city’s pig farms and slaughterhouses to detect or prevent the possible spread of the contagious disease.
Also on Monday, Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) head Dr. Mary Rose Vincoy confirmed that some pigs in a slaughterhouse in Carcar City, southern Cebu, tested positive for ASF.
The testing was conducted on March 1 as part of Carcar City’s veterinary officers’ regular surveillance.
Vincoy said the pigs that tested positive came from Negros Island and were slaughtered along with local pigs.
Following the incident, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued an executive order to temporarily ban the entry of pigs and pork products from Negros Island for 30 days or until April 5. (HIC)
