THE Department of Agriculture-Davao Region (DA-Davao) has confirmed Mindanao’s first case of African Swine Fever (ASF) which killed more than 1,000 pigs in a remote coastal town of Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental.
Town Mayor Michael Maruya on Friday, January 31, commanded the village chieftains, Philippine National Police and other concerned offices and agencies to ensure establishment of a 24/7 animal quarantine checkpoints to various entry points of the municipality after more or less 1,000 hogs have been reportedly dead due to rapidly increasing number of ASF cases.
The mayor said there have been confirmed cases in Barangay Linadasan, North Lamidan, South Lamidan, Calian, Mabuhay, Lawa, Nueva Villa and Baluntaya. He added that the outbreak poses threat on safety of the consumers of pork meat and products in the municipality.
The DA-Davao Region and the Provincial Veterinarian Office conducted a sample collection and validation of swine and recommended temporary lockdown of swine in the municipality.
Former Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol, on Saturday, February 1, said he will personally assess the situation in Don Marcelino town on Sunday, February 2. Don Marcelino is a coastal town facing the Davao Gulf and has only one major access road.
Piñol said the ASF outbreak in the remote town is yet to be addressed and investigated.
“This is also not the time to play the blame game. What needs to be done now is to contain the spread of the disease by immediately implementing quarantine measures,” the chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority said in his Facebook page.
Piñol said policemen and soldiers will be deployed to make sure no hogs will come out of Don Marcelino and its neighboring town Jose Abad Santos. He urged stakeholders of the hog industry to help.
He said power sprayers, preferably motorized, disinfectants, empty drums, wide galvanized pans for footbaths and tents are needed. Piñol is also open to suggestions on how to effectively dispose sick hogs.
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region director Liza Mazo, who also chairs the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has called for the activation of the Regional Animal Disease Task Force.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año previously issued an advisory on September 25, 2019 on measures to control the spread of African Swine Fever when cases affecting pigs and wild boars have been reported in various parts in the country. (SunStar Philippines)