REUTERS

HOG FARMERS said animal movement restrictions will be key to containing the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in Batangas.

“Stopping the spread of the virus to other parts of Batangas may not (solved by) vaccine alone; we must have the resolve to strictly monitor the movement of animals,” National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. Vice-Chairman Alfred Ng told BusinessWorld.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said that it was preparing to conduct emergency procurement of 10,000 doses of the ASF vaccine to curb the spread of the disease.

The DA added that the new ASF outbreak has led several towns in Batangas to declare a state of calamity to facilitate access to emergency funds.

Mr. Ng added that the current outbreak in the area may have been caused by non-compliance with biosecurity protocols.

He added that rains could have infected water sources and eased the spread of the disease.

The DA has said that it is planning a limited rollout of the AVAC ASF Live Vaccine from Vietnam by the third quarter.

As of Aug. 8, 62 municipalities across 22 provinces had active ASF cases, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The first cases of ASF in the Philippines was detected in 2019.

The DA said that it will set up livestock checkpoints across Luzon in response to the rapid spread of ASF cases in Batangas.

It suspected the practice of selling diseased pigs to have worsened the spread of ASF.

“We have set up additional livestock quarantines and will keep it there at least until Dec. 31… Policemen along with BAI and other DA personnel will man the checkpoints,” Constance J. Palabrica, assistant secretary for Poultry and Swine, said in a statement over the weekend.

“We have the funds to procure the vaccines and the emergency funds to indemnify hog raisers adversely affected by the resurgence of the ASF virus,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

The DA has allocated P350 million for the trial, sufficient to fund about 600,000 vials. Vaccination will initially be concentrated in red zones or those areas with active ASF cases and pink zones, or areas adjacent to zones with infections.

Hog production slipped 0.2% to 422,060 metric tons during the second quarter, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. — Adrian H. Halili

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