TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Blood samples of hogs in Barangay Ibarra in Maasin, Southern Leyte have tested positive for African swine fever (ASF).
City government officials convened a meeting yesterday to prevent the spread of ASF even as city veterinarian Rey Alinsub said the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory would still conduct confirmatory tests.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) had earlier said only 219 or five percent of the 4,390 barangays in Eastern Visayas reported ASF cases.
Up to 13,697 hogs or 6.11 percent of the 223,504 total hog population in the region were culled as of last July.
Forty-two towns and cities in Eastern Visayas have been hit by the swine disease since 2020.
DA regional director Angel Enriquez said around 95 percent of the affected hog raisers have been indemnified.
”We still have to conduct the remaining payouts, but there are only a few left and they are particularly in Eastern Samar,” he said.