THE Cebu City Agriculture Department has identified 11 barangays in the city as possible hotspots for African swine fever (ASF) after reports surfaced that some of the pigs there had died.
These barangays are Inayawan, Bulacao, Cogon Pardo, Toong, Buhisan, Tisa, Sudlon 2, Cambinocot, Busay, Budlaan and San Jose.
But City Agriculturist Joey Baclayon said that based on the tests that they conducted, there were no traces of the virus in these areas.
Baclayon added that they now strictly monitor hog farming in the city, especially in the mountain barangays.
Dr. Jessica Maribojoc, head of the Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF), said there were eight blood samples taken from pigs in backyard farms in the urban barangay that tested positive for ASF.
Maribojoc said the pigs within the 500-meter radius where the virus was detected are now being monitored, as the city government has not yet issued a culling order.
Pigs that remain healthy after the two-week observation period can be killed and sold. (PAC/TPT)