DUMAGUETE CITY — Negros Island has recorded its first confirmed cases of the African Swine Fever (ASF) after samples from hogs in Dauin town, Negros Oriental tested positive for the virus.
Dauin Mayor Galicano Truita, in his executive order dated May 20, said that the recent swine deaths in the town's Barangay Maayongtubig were caused by the ASF virus.
Truita ordered the culling of hogs in two sitios of the said barangay, including those within the areas' 500-meter radius.
Animal health authorities went from house to house in Barangay Maayongtubig to kill hogs in an effort to prevent ASF from further spreading.
Truita also ordered the temporary ban on pigs and pork products from entering and exiting Dauin, a town around 19 kilometers south of Negros Oriental's capital Dumaguete City.
Swine-related activities in the town, such as slaughtering, have also been suspended.
Negros Oriental earlier placed a total pork ban from ASF-hit areas, particularly Cebu.
The National Livestock Program earlier projected a possible pork shortage in the coming months due to ASF.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) had reported that 17 provinces in 10 regions across the country have been plagued by the disease.
While ASF does not infect humans, its spread among hogs have created a dent in the country's pork producers.
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