Hogs in another Antipolo village positive for African swine fever

MANILA, Philippines — Another village in Antipolo City, Rizal has been added to the list of areas affected by the African swine fever, making it the 12th site in the country contaminated by the deadly disease.

Agriculture chief William Dar announced this Monday, according to a tweet report of the Philippine Star.

Another area has been added to the list of affected by the African swine fever, this time in Antipolo City, bringing total sites infected by the deadly disease to 12. @PhilippineStar

— Maureen Simeon (@maureensimeon) September 23, 2019

The village in Antipolo City—whose name is not yet disclosed—is now under quarantine after several pigs in the area tested positive for ASF. The highly contagious viral disease is not harmful to humans but it causes hemorrhagic fever in hogs that almost always ends in death.

The other areas in Rizal province earlier identified as contaminated by African swine fever were Brgys. San Isidro, San Jose, Macabud, Geronimo, San Rafael and Mascap in Rodriguez town, San Mateo town, and Brgy. Cupang in Antipolo City.

Brgy. Pritil in Guiguinto Bulacan, and Brgys. Bagong Silangan and Payatas in Quezon City also tested positive for African swine fever.

The Philippines currently has more than 12 million hogs in its inventory and the swine industry is worth P260 billion.

At least 7,000 pigs have been so far culled as part of the government’s preventive measure. — with a report from The STAR/Louise Maureen Simeon