Cebu City vet inspects upland hog farms

CEBU CITY - The City Veterinary Office has begun inspecting piggery farms in the upland area to reassure the public that it is safe from the African swine fever (ASF) scare.

Dr. Jennifer Laurente, officer-in-charge of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF), led a team of inspectors in checking the status of the hog industry thriving in this city’s mountain villages.

The team collected blood samples of the livestock to monitor the health condition of the hogs in the pig farms here. “We visited the mountain barangays to monitor animal health in the area and to confirm that there is no ASF case in the city,” Laurente said. “The City Agriculture Office is also coordinating with our office with regards to the livestock industry in the highland area and collects blood samples to monitor if there is presence of the hog disease.”

The ASF is limited to pigs, but may spread through pork and its by-products from hog infected with the disease and eaten by pigs. Feeding the pigs with leftovers has been discouraged to prevent the spread of the disease through processed pork and pork products originating from infected pigs.

Provincial Veterinary Officer Dr. Rose Vincoy said they beefed up surveillance and quarantine monitoring in all the ports in the province of Cebu to prevent the entry of hogs and pork products. This came following the imposition of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia of a 100-day ban on the entry of hogs, pork, and its products due to the reported ASF cases in Luzon.

Vincoy, however, said they have not received any confirmed report of ASF cases in Cebu. She was quoted as saying in a radio report that if hog raisers noticed more than 5 percent of mortality of their livestock, they should report the incident to authorities so that they can launch a probe right away and prevent further spread of the disease. (John Rey Saavedra)