• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Twenty towns and cities in the Negros Island Region, four of them in Negros Occidental, have been listed under the red zone, or areas still affected by the dreaded African swine fever (ASF).
Latest zoning status released by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Oct. 18 showed that Bago City in Negros Occidental reentered the red zone category and joined Bacolod City, Escalante City, and Valladolid, after it was listed under pink, or buffer zone, last month.
In Negros Oriental, 16 of its 25 localities are ASF-affected, including the cities of Dumaguete, Bayawan, and Tanjay, and the towns of Amlan, Ayungon, Bacong, Basay, Bindoy, Dauin, Manjuyod, Pamplona, Siaton, Sibulan, Valencia, Vallehermoso, and Zamboanguita.
Sipalay remains as the only LGU in Negros Occidental under the protected zone, or light green, with Candoni, Cauayan, Himamaylan City, Hinoba-an, Sagay City, and San Enrique categorized in the surveillance, or yellow zone. The rest are under the pink, or buffer zone.
The BAI earlier explained that a yellow zone covers areas where ASF has not been detected, but are adjacent to the pink zone. The latter’s category means that ASF is not present but these areas are next to an infected zone.
In Negros Oriental, LGUs listed in the yellow zone are Jimalalud and La Libertad, while Bais City, Canlaon City, San Jose, Santa Catalina, and Tayasan are in the buffer zone.
The whole island of Siquijor, meanwhile, is ASF-free, with all of its six localities – Enrique Villanueva, Larena, Lazi, Maria, San Juan, and Siquijor – in dark green zone, the BAI said.
As of Oct. 18, more than 500 LGUs in the country were under the infected zone, mostly in Luzon.
To expedite the government-controlled vaccination against ASF, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has expanded its rollout nationwide, including commercial farms and swine herds, under the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) program.
DA assistant secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a Philippine News Agency report Oct. 22 that this move will supplement the controlled rollout in small farms, adding that BAI-accredited and private laboratories may be used for testing the blood samples of hogs, in coordination with LGUs.
DA Administrative Order 8, dated Oct. 18, states that “commercial farms interested in participating in the vaccination program must submit a letter of intent to the DA Regional Field Office. The LGUs shall be duly notified of the farm’s intent to participate in the controlled use of vaccines.”
Authorized BAI personnel must be allowed to conduct farm inspections, alongside biosecurity measures and readiness assessments, the AO said, adding that only healthy and ASF-negative growers, or hogs at least six weeks of age and older, may be vaccinated. | CGC
