ZAMBOANGA CITY HAS tightened its watch on the entry of hog and pork products following the outbreak of the African swine fever (ASF) in the country.
Mayor Beng Climaco said strict protocols will be observed to monitor and regulate the entry of hog and pork products here as a measure against the fatal animal disease.
The Department of Agriculture confirmed this month the first ASF outbreak started on July 25 in mostly backyard pigs in the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan in Luzon.
Dr. Arnedo Agbayani, Assistant Zamboanga City Veterinarian, said live hogs and pork products that do not have proper paperwork and certification will not be allowed entry. “These requirements include the health certificate and the veterinarian shipping permit, a document which all city and provincial veterinarians have been directed to provide in light of the ASF scare in Luzon,” Agbayani said.
Agbayani said they have set up checkpoints in entry and exit points in Zamboanga to ensure that no infected hogs and its pork products slip past the city. He said they are in close coordination with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which is strictly monitoring the illegal sale of pork and pork by-products such as Ma-ling and Great Wall brands from countries with known cases of ASF, especially China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
“If may napapansin kayong nagbebenta, please don’t hesitate to report to us immediately because this is one source of infection of ASF, itong mga canned and processed pork products,” Agbayani said.
The FDA in May has ordered the pull-out from the markets of all processed pork products such as luncheon meat imported from countries affected by the ASF – Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. AFS is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family.
The virus is transmitted to pigs through direct contact with infected pigs, their waste, contaminated clothing, feed, equipment and vehicles, and in some cases, some tick species. Although ASF cannot be transmitted to humans through contact with pigs or pork, the virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection. (Zamboanga Post)
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