By George M. De La Cruz
NEGROS Occidental raised an alert Tuesday amid the swine flu pandemic that appears to be even worse than Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which left nearly 800 people dead.
Strict quarantine measures on ports and seaports are being imposed in the province.
“The effort is to anticipate the likelihood of a swine flu virus spread in the province as a preventive measure,” said Negros Occidental Governor Isidro Zayco.
A meeting attended by paravets, veterinarians, local government units, hog raisers, poultry and livestock associations, among others, is ongoing Wednesday at Bacolod Pavilion Resort, said Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, “to ensure that we maintain our meat and meat products infection-free and bio-secured.”
Strictly enforcing the “no permit, no entry” policy in a bid to stop the entry of breeder hogs from the Luzon and Cebu provinces, the provincial administration also strengthened the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Task Force in the province.
This is in response to the growing threat of the swine flu virus, which is highly communicable and already affected a hundred people in Mexico, mostly students, prompting widespread school closures and other precautionary measures.
Philippine government agencies composed of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Agriculture (DA) also raised respective alerts banning pork imports from the United States and Mexico.
Decena said ports and seaports in the provinces of Cebu and Luzon are possible entry points for pork imports.
Various foot baths have been strictly maintained in all ports and seaports to ensure that the province maintains its FMD-free status, Decena said.
“Communication has already been sent to the province’s backyard and commercial hog raisers, including hog raisers associations, to closely monitor and report to the task force incidence of suspected swine flu. We have alerted all our requirement inspectors in every port and seaport in the province.”
But he added that despite the threat, “(this) will not affect the swine industry of the province considering there is an oversupply of hogs.”
Negros ranks third as the country’s hog-producing province. The provinces of Bulacan and Batangas raked in good profits from the industry, being the first and second top suppliers of hogs, respectively.
“We encourage LGUs to strictly impose pertinent laws against illegal slaughtering to ensure that pork is safe (for consumption),” Decena said.
Negros ships out 5,000 hogs monthly, Decena said, adding the province can make the most out of the threat. He noted that an oversupply of hogs is “good for the domestic market” and would result in “increase in profit for hog raisers.”
The swine flu virus is caused by a number of closely related influenza A viruses that are noted for their ability to change their antigenic structure and create new strains, Decena said.
He noted that the disease’s incubation period is very short, as short as 12-48 hours with the onset usually rapid and dramatic.
“It is virtually impossible to maintain a population of pigs that is influenza virus free.”
He added that immunity to influenza viruses is often short-lived (six months) and the immunity profile in the breeding herd varies considerably with time.
Originally Posted by bornatbirth
