THE hog virus, a disease that infected the hog raising industry in barangay San Vicente, Pilar town, remains unknown until this writing.
Gov. Aris Aumentado told Capitol Reports on Friday that his office is still waiting for the result of the random tests conducted on some of the pigs in said barangay after blood samples from the infected hogs were taken.
In a separate interview, provincial veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz said that her office had already sent the blood samples to Manila for confirmatory purposes to determine whether the said hog disease is an African Swine Fever (ASF), or not. And probably it would take time to have the result, she added.
The governor “stressed there are no confirmed cases of hog cholera or ASF, yet, in Pilar despite recording a number of hog deaths,” according to Bohol Island News (BIN) posted on its website.
Lapiz said that there were 87 hogs hit by what it called “viral infection.” And nine (9), not six (6) as earlier reported, hog raisers are affected that now the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) considered it an “outbreak.”
Of these figures, 34 hogs were already dead before the discovery of others to be sick weeks before. Forty-five (45) were culled; 12 were already morbid; and 23 young hogs exposed to risk of infection.
WARNING
The probability that Bohol could be ASF positive may not be remote if everybody will not cooperate, Lapiz said.
She stressed that everybody, especially the commercial and non-commercial hog raisers, should do his/her share to cooperate with the authorities or government’s counter measures being set up.
The warning came following the much-publicized incident of hog being raised and had died due to still unknown disease in barangay San Vicente, Pilar town last week.
Even if the initial result of the specimen blood samples from the dead hogs in said barangay found to be ASF negative, the possibility of contamination is still not remote. This depends on the confirmatory findings of the authorities in Manila over the blood samples being examined after several days, yet. But her office does not know how long a confirmatory result would come in, she said.
COUNTER-MEASURES
Gov. Aris Aumentado told media in an interview that he suggested to ASF Task Force to expand the distance radius to 500 meter from only 100 meters from the pigpen of the dead hogs. This is to ensure that the virus, if ever it’s ASF, cannot further spread to neighboring areas.
Also, one of the measures in place is the disinfection stations within the vicinity of the place where the hogs are being buried. This is manned by barangay tanods as witnessed by media during the visit of the place.
After the suspected hog-virus-affected in said barangay erupted, law enforcement authorities in Alicia and Pilar towns, set up border-to-border check points checking every passing vehicle.
In a separate interview, Mabini town Vice-Mayor Myra Colis, who attended the Provincial Peace and Order Council Meeting, told this writer that similar measures (check points) were mounted upon the order of Mayor Onjie Grace B. Lim.
Provincial Task Force ASF led by Lapiz conducted awareness and information drive held at the covered court of Poblacion, Pilar town on Wednesday.
During the forum, Lapiz requested the hog raisers not to use semen from the boar they have of their piggery. The OPV will provide such need of semen in reproducing hogs, she said.
HOG BAN
An executive order was issued recently by the governor banning the entry of pigs and pork products in Pilar town. Aumentado pointed out the need to “protect and preserve” the swine industry, especially backyard farmers.
“We have put up checkpoints to limit the movements of pigs in the town to prevent the spread of the virus,” he said.
LEGAL ACTION
Gov. Aumentado ordered provincial legal officer Atty. Handel Lagunay to cause the filing of cases against those perpetrators who ignored the ban on bringing with them hog products into the province pursuant to his executive order.
“Tinud-a gyud na Atty,” the governor told Lagunay. (Make sure to run after the violators).
The governor’s order surfaced after an unidentified person brought with him some hog products upon entering the Tubigon port.
The said person reportedly abandoned his cargo of hog products from Cebu city after it was detected by authorities at the port.
Lagunay vowed to follow the governor’s imprimatur. He added that the perpetrator might be facing an economic sabotage for bringing the said hog products. The economic sabotage carries a heftier penalty based on national law, he said.
The consideration of using the national law against violators may be prompted since the local law imposes only a lower penalty of P5,000.00, the most a local government unit can impose.
The six-billion hog industry here is based on the 90% backyard piggery and 10% large-scale. (rvo)
