By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) acting head, Dr. Placida Lerma said Monday that the PVO is eyeing to collect 446 blood samples from both commercial and backyard hogs as part of its surveillance efforts against the African Swine Fever (ASF).
Lemana said that as early as September 2022, the Department of Agriculture has ordered all provincial veterinarians in the country to collect blood samples.
Before the order of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the different local government units submitted the blood samples to the Animal Health Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry adding the deadline was only extended, she said.
She reassured the public that Negros Occidental remains “ASF-free.”
Lemana further said that while there is a possibility that ASF can be transmitted from an infected pig by mosquito, there will be no adverse effect on humans.
On Sunday, the President ordered the DA in Western Visayas office “to test all pig breeding sites in the region to control the spread of the ASF.
