EIGHT PROVINCES had active African Swine Fever (ASF) cases, with the hog disease detected in 22 barangays, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
DA Spokesman Noel O. Reyes said in a virtual briefing Thursday that as of Aug. 13, the active ASF cases are in five barangays of Solsona, Ilocos Norte; four barangays of Buenavista, Agusan del Norte; two barangays of Tandag City, Surigao del Sur; and two barangays of Manticao, Misamis Oriental.
He added that the towns that have one barangay with an active ASF case are Carasi, Ilocos Norte; Ballesteros, Cagayan; Reina Mercedes, Isabela; Baybay City and Villaba, Leyte; Gandara, Samar; and Lugait, Salay, and Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
Mr. Reyes said there were 58 ASF-positive samples as of Aug. 13, against 82 a year earlier, 442 in July and 282 in June.
“Overall, the sampling areas which show a positive ASF sample are waning,” Mr. Reyes said.
Mr. Reyes said 470 cities and municipalities have had zero ASF cases for at least 90 days, while 74 cities and municipalities have had no ASF cases between 90 and 180 days. Some 396 cities and municipalities had no cases for more than 180 days.
Mr. Reyes also confirmed in the same virtual briefing that the DA is set to release a report by the end of the month on the outcome of the ASF vaccine trials.
“The research on the ASF vaccine is ‘promising.’ However, we still need around one or two additional rounds of research before we can roll out the vaccine commercially,” International Training Center for Pig Husbandry Director Ruth S. Miclat-Sonaco said in the same briefing. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
