• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Highly-urbanized Bacolod City and component city of Escalante in Negros Occidental have joined the list of 16 local government units (LGUs) classified as “pink zones” by the Department of Agriculture (DA) National African Swine Fever Prevention and Control Program.
Bacolod and Escalante used to be ASF red zones or infected zones.
In Negros Occidental, other LGUs included in the DA list as “pink zones” are the cities of Kabankalan, San Carlos, Silay, Victorias as well as the municipalities of Hinigaran, San Enrique, La Castellana, Pulupandan, and Valladolid while in Negros Oriental, these are Bais City, Ayungon, Manjuyod, Valencia and Vallehermoso.
Pink zones are areas where ASF is not currently present but are considered high-risk due to their proximity to infected zones, requiring strict monitoring and preventive measures to prevent the disease from spreading further.
Provincial Veterinary Office officer-in-charge Yasmin Tan, however, said that Negros Occidental cannot still be classified as ASF-free.
“We are not yet in a ‘dark green zone’ category,” she added.
LGUs in the pink zones have to apply for the sentineling program of DA, Tan said.
The sentinel protocol checks if ASF is still present in the “sentinel “ piglets given to them after 40 days.
If the piglets survive, it means negative presence of the virus, and they can proceed to the yellow zone, a signal for the start of breeding and repopulation, according to the DA.
Tan said that hogs from ASF infected areas are still prohibited from entering Negros Occidental. | GB
