African swine fever presence contained — Department of Agriculture

A day after announcing that African swine fever (ASF) caused the deaths of several hogs in Rizal province, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday declared that ASF was no longer present in the country.

“Ang gusto kong linawin wala na pong ASF. Contained na po yan dahil na disinfect na,” DA spokesperson Noel Reyes said on Dobol B sa News TV.

In August, blood samples were taken from hogs in three barangays in Rizal province, where around 100 pigs died last month.

These samples were sent to the World Reference Laboratory in Pirbright, England to determine the disease that infected the pigs.

Test results found that, of the 20 samples, 14 were positive for ASF.

Reyes added that the DA was monitoring some other areas which reported unusual hog deaths.

“So mino-monitor na lang natin yung ibang mga areas kung saan may unusual na namatay na baboy,” Reyes said.

Aside from the cases in Rizal, there were no other confirmed instances of ASF in the country.

Around 7,000 pigs were destroyed due to ASF, according to the DA. — Joviland Rita/DVM, GMA News