Naga orders lockdown vs hogs, pork products

Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion has ordered on Thursday, Feb. 20, the putting up of checkpoints in strategic locations within and around the city, particularly entry and exit points, to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) disease.

This after Department of Agriculture (DA) regional executive director Rodel P. Tornilla confirmed during a press conference an ASF case in Bombon, Camarines Sur.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious virus disease in pigs, caused by unclassified virus. It is usually characterized by fever, hyperaemia of the skin, haemorrhages of the internal organs and, frequently, with very high mortality.

Modes of transmission of the virus disease among hogs involve direct contact through the fluid droppings of infected pigs, or through indirect contact such as swill feeding, infected materials (clothes, utensils, other furnitures), infected air, and infected meat or “hot meat’, “botcha” and even through vectors like soft ticks.

Legacion said that the directive includes the temporary prohibition of entry of meat products and live hogs in the city, especially those originating from Bombon, Calabanga, Camaligan, Canaman, and Magarao towns.

He met with fellow mayors of the towns concerning the lockdown of Naga from hogs and pork products, following the “1-7-10 Protocol” of the DA and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).

The protocol states that hogs within 1-kilometer radius from the infected site is prohibited from entering or leaving the site of infection and will be depopulated. In a 7-kilometer radius, hogs will be under surveillance with restricted movements and will be undergoing a blood testing process, while those covered within ten-kilometers from ground zero will be put under mandatory monitoring and reporting of swine disease occurrences.

Personnel of the Naga City Police Office (NCPO) and the City Veterinary Office (CVO) are manning the checkpoints as well as the disposal of confiscated products based on existing protocols.

Meanwhile, the city’s Anti-ASF Task Force conducts inspection of pork products being transported via vehicles that are entering the city. Under Legacion’s ASF prevention directives, “all pork products brought or transported without the necessary shipping permit and those products from regions and countries affected by ASF shall be confiscated and disposed based on existing protocols.”