THE Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office is not discounting the possibility that rampant hog deaths in the province is already due to African swine fever.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana, however, stressed the declaration will come from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) based on laboratory tests.
The latest lab result released last week, based on samples taken from pigs in Bacolod City, showed it's still negative of ASF, Lemana said.
As of May 19, Lemana said hog deaths in the province has already reached 4,308 with San Enrique town topping the list with 1,800 fatalities, followed by Bago City - 838, Valladolid - 576, Pululandan - 315, La Carlota - 247, and Pontevedra - 230.
Lemana said most of the hog deaths are in localities belonging to the Fourth District of the province where most areas are irrigated and are low-land areas.
Lemana said that the Provincial Incident Management Team is now crafting strategies and guidelines to be followed by local government units for the proper disposal of dead pigs.
"The farmers affected are just throwing the bodies of dead pigs in the rivers and irrigations, that's why the virus easily spreads," Lemana pointed out.
Meanwhile, Lemana said that since Negros Oriental has been confirmed to have positive cases of ASF, pigs and pork products from the neighboring province are automatically banned from entering Negros Occidental.
She also revealed that pigs and pork products from the province have already been banned from entering Negros Oriental after hog cholera cases were confirmed here.
Lemana also confirmed that prices of pork have already dropped in the province from P280 per kilo to P200 to P230 per kilo in some localities outside of Bacolod City.*