Northern Samar on alert after reporting 1st ASF case

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The provincial task force on African swine fever in Northern Samar is on alert for unusual swine deaths after reporting its first ASF case in Lope de Vega town on Tuesday.

Provincial veterinarian Jose Luis Acompañado, vice chairman of the ASF task force in the province, said they would continue blood sample collection within seven kilometers of the affected area in Barangay Bonifacio.

“Active surveillance is crucial in determining the extent of ASF outbreak in Lope De Vega to prevent further spread of the virus,” Acompañado said.

He said animal quarantine checkpoints were put up in strategic areas, adding that disinfection of hog farms would continue.

Authorities said 200 pigs within the 500-meter radius of the first confirmed case would be culled.

Northern Samar is the second province in Eastern Visayas affected by ASF.

Leyte recorded its first case in Abuyog town on Jan. 14.

Eleven other areas in Leyte – Javier, Dulag, La Paz, Burauen, MacArthur, Palo, Pastrana, Tanauan, Tacloban City, Mayorga and Jaro – were hit by the swine disease.

Around 16,000 pigs were depopulated in Leyte in the past two months.

Investigation showed that ASF could have been transmitted to local farms through an infected boar used for natural mating.

Swill feeding was also blamed for the spread of the disease.