MORE than a year since Davao Region recorded its first case of African Swine Fever (ASF), an official from the Department of Agriculture-Davao Region (DA-Davao) said the region is still not "ASF-free."
"As of present, may mga target areas pa lang tayo (we already have target areas) for the repopulation or recovery. However, as of now, wala pa po tayong (we do not have) areas declared as ASF free," DA-Davao ASF focal person Armie Capuyan said in a virtual presser.
As of July 13, Capuyan said a total of 49,315 pigs were already depopulated since the first case was recorded in the region in late January 2020. A total of 10, 652 farmers coming from 43 municipalities and 235 barangays were affected by forcibly culling their hogs to curb the spread of the hog disease.
Capuyan said they recently received reports of ASF cases in Davao del Sur, particularly in the municipality of Hagonoy, Matanao, and Kiblawan. A commercial farm in Nabunturan, Davao de Oro has also reported ASF cases.
She said the affected areas are currently undergoing depopulation.
The official said they are still conducting surveillance in areas previously infected with the deadly hog disease, which wiped out a large number of hog populations.
She added that the repopulation process will only commence if the once infected area will not record any ASF case for 90 days or more.
Among the areas that are undergoing biosurveillance are Davao Occidental (Sta. Maria, Malita, Don Marcelino, and Jose Abad Santos), Davao del Sur, and Davao City.
Capuyan revealed that some hog facilities that were already depopulated and decontaminated had still traces of the ASF virus.
“Ngayon nag-uundergo sila ng (Currently, they are undergoing) disinfection and decontamination as part of the downtime period,” she said.
Capuyan admitted that the current Covid-19 restrictions had posed challenges in their efforts to curb the spread of ASF.
Like the Covid-19, she said the ASF virus will continue to pose risk in the region’s hog industry unless a vaccine is discovered.
“Until now, wala pang (there is no existing) effective vaccine for ASF kahit na saan dito sa bansa o sa buong mundo. Ang magiging panlaban natin ay of course yung (not only here, but also in other parts of the world. Our line of defense is of course our) strict implementation ng (of) biosecurity measures,” Capuyan said. (Laizelle Joy B. Labajo, NDDU Intern/With RGL)