THREE hogs succumbed to African swine fever (ASF) in Cebu City on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) refused to name the barangay where the animals were from pending a DVMF report to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and City Administrator Collin Rosell.
Jessica Maribojoc, head of the DVMF, said both Rama and Rosell had yet to be alerted to this development, which she disclosed during the Openline News Forum on Tuesday, May 30.
She said the barangay is now being closely monitored by the DVMF.
Red zone
Maribojoc said the point of origin of the three hogs that died was not any of the barangays in Cebu City.
“The blood samples that we extracted that turned out positive were from pigs that did not directly come from Cebu City,” she said in Cebuano.
She said the pigs were brought to Cebu City from a red zone or an ASF-infected zone designated by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
Though the barangay with the recent ASF deaths remains undisclosed, she said it is not Tisa, Budlaan or Bulacao — the three barangays that had confirmed cases of ASF in Cebu City.
She explained that the ASF cases in these three barangays had already been either contained or cleared.
Others culled
Maribojoc said they had culled two more surviving hogs that were ASF-positive owned by the same backyard hog raiser.
However, the culling was not extended to the surrounding hog raisers within the 500-meter radius, Maribojoc said.
Since 2019, the BAI has been depopulating or culling pigs within a 500-meter radius of where ASF is discovered.
In total, she said, the DVMF already culled 21 hogs from infected areas since March, while they were able to record 35 pig mortalities.
No more compensation
The Cebu City Government earlier provided compensation to farmers whose pigs would be culled due to ASF in March.
However, this was removed under Executive Order 5 of Mayor Rama, that promotes alternative livestock production such as rabbit meat.
“So our advice is if they plan to raise hogs now, they should know the risks that come with it,” she said.
Hotspot barangays
Maribojoc said the list of hotspot barangays has been revised with new barangays included.
Aside from barangays Bulacao, Tisa, Buhisan, Cogon Pardo, Inayawan, Sudlon, Busay, Toong, Sudlon 2, Lusaran, Bonbon and Babag; barangays San Jose, Budlaan, Malubog, Adlawon, Lusaran, Cambinocot and Taptap were added to the list, she said.
Hotspot barangays are those where there have been documented hog morbidity cases, but not necessarily due to ASF; still, these areas are constantly watched by the DVMF.
According to Maribojoc, the hog industry in the entire Cebu province is worth roughly P 10.9 billion.