ASF cases down to 5 provinces

MANILA, Philippines — African swine fever (ASF) cases in the country are on the decline with only five provinces having active infections, Agriculture Secretary William Dar reported to senators yesterday.

During deliberations on the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s proposed P91-billion budget for 2022, Dar  said only 20 of the 624 cities and municipalities, which recorded cases of the swine disease, have active infections.

He said only 83 barangays recorded active cases of ASF compared to 3,283 last year.

Fifty provinces have been affected by ASF since it was detected in the country in 2019.

Dar did not identify the remaining areas with ASF cases.

“We can see the decline and we hope the traders and our backyard hog raisers cooperate. Our indemnification is now high so some hog raisers report cases although there are still some who do not,” Dar said.

When asked by Sen. Imee Marcos why pork prices remain high if the number of infected pigs are going down, Dar said there are still many areas where hog raisers are hesitant to repopulate due to fears that the virus is still present.

Dar said P4 billion of their proposed budget for next year would be used to address ASF, including repopulation of hogs.

He said there is no room for complacency as the virus may spread again if health and quarantine protocols are not observed.