Ilocos Sur officials gird vs spread of animal diseases

PHILIPPINES - Ilocos Sur Governor, Deogracias Victor "DV" Savellano has alerted the provincial officials, policemen, local officials and private sectors for the possible transfer of hog cholera disease in the province. It follows an outbreak in pig farms in Bulacan and Pampanga.
calendar icon 30 July 2007
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This developed when the governor ordered the establishment of 24- hour quarantine checkpoint at Barangay Bio, Tagudin town to protect all livestocks in the province from any diseases caused by the animals that will be shipped from nearby provinces.

The moved the governor initiated was also protecting the birds in the province from the possible transfer of avian influenza virus.

"We are now airing over the radio the preventive measures into any animal diseases particularly the reported outbreak of hog cholera and we will be setting up quarantine checkpoint in Barangay Bio, Tagudin town," Savellano told.

According to Governor Savellano, the quarantine will be manned by the provincial government, provincial veterinary office, the municipality of Tagudin, local policemen, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (ISPSC), members of the Community and Involvement Service (CIS) and officials and tanod of Barangay Bio, Tagudin town.

In his interview over DWRS Commando Radio, the governor asked Vice Governor Jeremias "Jerry" Singson and Provincial Board Member Gerry Lahoz to assist the creation of the quarantine checkpoint in Tagudin.

"Barangay Bio, which is the boundary between La Union province and Ilocos Sur, is the best place to establish the quarantine considering it as the gateway to Ilocandia," he said.

"All animals that enter into the province will be subject for checkpoint. Those animals that found out to be exposed from infectious or contagious diseases will be isolated to prevent its spread," he added.

Provincial Board Member Lahoz, who is a doctor by profession, will assist the technical aspect in the examination of animals being transported in Ilocos Sur.

It was learned that some hog dealers from the provinces of Bulacan, Pampangga, Tarlac and Pangasinan were delivering swine in Ilocos Sur to supply the meat vendors in the province.

The governor also planned to put up quarantines in the next few days at the boundaries of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur in Sinait town; and of Abra province and Ilocos Sur in Narvacan town.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap ordered the strict monitoring by the Regional Field Units (RFUs) to all piggeries and small hog raisers nationwide.

Secretary Yap also ordered the disposal of all affected animals to prevent the spread of a swine disease outbreak that reportedly hit Bulacan farms. This will be done through the disposal of lethargic animals, carcasses and beddings by burying or burning, administering of vaccines to apparently healthy pigs and thoroughly clean and disinfect all affected areas.

The secretary also prohibited the transport of breeder hogs and those set to be slaughtered must be covered by appropriate authority or shipping permits, all of which will have to be cleared in veterinary quarantine checkpoints.

The outbreak of the hog cholera disease was exposed after the capture of 700 kilos of "double dead" pork, which were reportedly meat of slaughtered hogs infected with hog cholera from Sta. Maria, Bulacan, by the health officials in Pasay City.

Out of the country's one-million pig stock, about 4,000 heads were reportedly affected with hog cholera virus in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga with 2,000 hogs each were confirmed affected.

Veterinarians from Bulacan blamed the abrupt changing of weather conditions and failure of pig raisers to vaccinate their animals for the spread of the hogs' ailments, which caused for the animals to become more vulnerable to illnesses.

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