Only 20 PH Provinces Remain Free From African Swine Fever – Bureau Of Animal Industry

The African Swine Fever (ASF) incidence in the country has become a serious problem with only 20 provinces remaining free from the viral disease affecting pigs and wild boars.

ASF has already been detected in 460 municipalities in 54 provinces, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said in this report. The only 20 provinces where the disease was not detected are the following: Batanes, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Masbate, Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Biliran, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Early this month, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that ASF is already a "national concern" due to its widespread incidence.

"It's a national concern, even though we are continuously importing pork. We don't want this to cause a spike in our importation which is detrimental to our local raisers," DA Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez, who is also the DA spokesperson, said.

ASF is a contagious disease that is 100% deadly among affected swine, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said.

ASF was reported in the following countries since August 2018: China, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, The Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, Nepal and Singapore.

The first ASF in the country was reported in July 2019 resulting in the culling of affected hogs among other measures to stop the spread of the disease. Aside from culling, restrictions on the movement of live pigs and pork products including fresh, frozen and uncooked processed pork products were also implemented.

Some of the provinces where ASF was found include Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Apayao, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Aurora, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Marinduque, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, Cebu, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar and Southern Leyte among others.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila remains free from ASF.

The DA is following the protocol provided by the World Organization for Animal Health regarding ASF which mandates the depopulation of swine within a 500-meter radius of an area where the outbreak was reported, Estoperez said.