By PIA-Bohol | 09:55 AM March 08, 2025
There are active disinfection stations located in the ports of entry here, but now that the dreaded hog disease, African Swine Fever (ASF) is inside Bohol, what would stop the spread of the disease?
The need for disinfections for areas and vehicles that get in and out of ASF affected areas, including those that drive through infected areas, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado has issued Executive Order No 16, series of 2025, which enhanced the guidelines for prevention of the spread of ASF in Bohol.
“In the course of implementing the guidelines and protocols to contain and prevent the spread of the disease, new challenges surfaced, like disinfecting vehicles which transport hogs used by traders and canvassers,” the governor noted.
For this, the governor mandates the ASF Task Force to organize mobile disinfection teams and in collaboration with the private sector, formulate strategies for the efficient and effective disinfection of hog transport vehicles used by traders and canvassers.
A present, the operational guideline does not have a disinfection system for local vehicles, Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) Operations chief Romulo Garcia admitted.
Moreover, the ASF Task Force sees a need to put up a system in the issuance of Veterinary Health Certificates to ensure that the issuing officer has all the necessary information in relation to the areas of affectation and status of pig farms to have a more coordinated and coherent management of hog movements to further prevent the spread of the disease.
To this, Aumentado’s new EO also centralizes the issuance of Veterinary Health Certificates, to achieve a coordinated ad coherent management in the movement of hogs.
The EO says only the government veterinarians at the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) in Bohol can issue the said certificates.
Such is so because the OPV consolidates all the data on affectation, areas under quarantine and its nearby buffer areas, these data would be useful to ensure that the hogs to be moved are not coming from ASF affected areas.
As of March 6, 2025, data from the OPV showed that ASF has affected a total of 16 towns, but San Miguel, Ubay and Carmen have proven the disease can be managed if done properly.
San Miguel used to ahev ASF affectaions in San Vicente, Bayongan, Cambangay Norte and Bugangm but no new cases have been reported from these areas or its nearby areas.
Ubay, which used to have ASF in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bulilis, Governor Boyles, Villa Teresita, Humayhumay, Pangpang and Gabi have also successfully controlled the spread with no new cases manifesting recently.
Carmen’s Buenos Aires, Nueva Vida Norte and Tamboan, which had cases in January are now ASF free.
Batuan, which had documented cases late last year, still keeps ASF positive cases in the conducted rapid tests in Upper Cabacnitan. The cases in Poblacion Sur, Poblacion Norte, Poblacion Vieja, Cantigdas, Quezon and Sta Cruz have been contained without any new cases showing.
Pilar has cleared cases in San Vicente and La Suerte, but the cases in San Isidro still test positive.
In Trinidad, cases in Manuel Roxas, Soom and Cagawasan are so far cleared but other cases manifested in Poblacion, San Vicente, La Union, Guinobatan, La Victoria and Kinan-oan are still on quarantine lockdowns.
Bilar town has resolved its ASF issues in barangay Dagohoy, Bugang Sur and Bugang Norte, but a recent rapid test in Campagao still shows positive traces of the virus.
Garcia said, “we have a good track record of containing the disease in an area, however, there is a need for communities to adopt an early reporting system, to get the quarantine perimeter set up, before anybody could transport hogs out.”
As many along with him think, the setting up of quarantine perimeter defenses usually happen after residents have sold and salvaged some of those hogs that show weakness or early signs of the disease. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
