THE African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to take a toll in 31 towns, including the four cities in Pangasinan, although only four percent (or 16,106 hogs) of the total hog population in the province have been culled.

This was confirmed by Dr. Florentino Adame, Department of Agriculture Region 1 – regulatory division chief, as he underscored the fact that there is still no vaccine to prevent the spread of ASF.

He said 2,183 hog raisers in the province have been affected because of the rapid transmission rate.

Aside from Pangasinan, six towns in La Union have also been affected by the ASF, while the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur are considered ‘green areas’, meaning no case of ASF has been recorded yet.

Despite the continuing culling operations, Adame said economic impact on the province’s hog industry is ‘minimal’.

“ASF is like the COVID-19 in humans because up to now, there is no vaccine yet to control its spread,” he said as he pointed out that during the COVID-19 lockdown, their surveillance was stalled because technical people can’t move around because of movement restrictions.

He warned that the ASF virus may continue to spread due to the practice of ‘apagan’ – slaughtering of hogs to be sold in cut pieces to local residents. (‘Apag’ is a Pangasinan word meaning ‘to divide’).

Adame said the practice in remote barangays is to slaughter hogs and distribute cut parts to be sold or given as gift to local residents.

While the ASF virus is not transmissible to humans, hog traders are encouraged to observe standards set by the National Meat Inspection Service. (PhilStar Wire Service/ECV/Ahikam Pasion)

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