Hog cholera outbreak under control - agri exec

The outbreak of hog cholera and other diseases that hit some pig farms in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga last week is now under control, the Bureau of Animal Industry said in a report on Monday. BAI officer-in-charge Davinio Catbagan, in a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, said hog cholera, swine flu and the pseudo-rabies virus that hit some farms have now been placed under control through measures the Department of Agriculture immediately put in place. Catbagan said he does not expect any more outbreaks in the coming days after the BAI released 5,000 doses of the hog cholera vaccine in Bulacan. He said provincial veterinarian Felipe Bartolome was also directed to immediately give the shots to healthy swine to prevent the spread of the disease. According to BAI data, 43 barangays in 11 towns and one city in Bulacan were affected by the hog cholera outbreak. At least 183 hog growers reported that 2,823 hogs were afflicted with “hog cholera" and “swine influenza virus." Catbagan noted that the 2,823 affected hogs represent a minimal 0.29 percent of the total hog population of more than one million in Bulacan. Earlier, the DA assured the public that the recent outbreak of the hog cholera in certain areas in Bulacan will have no effect on the supply and prices of pork in Metro Manila. -GMANews.TV