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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Agri execs assure hog cholera can be prevented
By Marna H. Dagumboy
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The provincial agriculture office on Saturday assured the public’s safety against hog cholera -- a highly contagious viral disease affecting swine, which can be prevented through vaccination.
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Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Central Luzon officer-in-charge Romeo Manalili ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to look into the status of the hog vaccination program in Pampanga and Bulacan and direct the provincial veterinarians to submit a report on the possible causes of the outbreak.
Manalili said the current disease situation registered a mortality rate of less than five percent in Pampanga and Bulacan’s backyard farms.
He said the BAI had already started conducting a public information campaign to intensify the implementation of bio-security measures in hog farms nationwide to prevent the spread of the disease.
Manalili clarified that the spread of the disease will be under control, saying it is only confined to a few farms and will have no effect on the supply of hogs here and in Manila.
He however added that contaminated meats are subject to outright condemnation. Slaughter houses would be closely monitored, he said, adding that meat being sold in the market also require documentation like slaughter house stamps.
“Meat certification should have undergone inspection for the safety of the public,” he said.
Aside from advising hog raisers to strictly implement bio-security measures prescribed by BAI to control the spread of hog cholera, Yap also ordered that all transport of breeders and hogs for slaughter be covered by appropriate authority or shipping permits and monitored at veterinary quarantine checkpoints, Manalili added.
"The selling and transport of sick and affected animals is strictly prohibited,” Yap stressed in his directive.
Manalili also said the meat being sold here are safe and have been inspected by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
Yap likewise ordered DA regional executive directors to coordinate closely with provincial, city and municipal veterinarians in conducting a massive information campaign on the implementation of measures to prevent the spread of the hog disease in other areas.
Earlier, some 2,250 swine were inflicted a hog cholera disease in the province and Bulacan. However, the hog cholera in the area was confined to only a few farms. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (July 29, 2007 issue)
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