The provincial veterinarian of Cotabato blamed the online selling of processed meat chorizo for the first cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Magpet town of Cotabato.
According to Dr. Rufino Suropia, Cotabato provincial veterinarian, the ASF contamination may have originated from the processed meat orders delivered through couriers during the lockdown.
Suropia said residents in Magpet turned to online selling when the government placed the country under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in April and May.
He added that online sellers from the Davao region were selling products through couriers, which is why they passed through COVID-19 quarantine personnel undetected.
Arlan M. Mangelen, regional director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Soccsksargen region, said Monday that blood samples taken from hogs in at least four remote villages of Magpet town had been found positive for ASF infection.
Mangelen said the highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease among domestic and wild pigs was detected in the villages of Ilian, Kiantog, Tagbac, and Magca-alam of Magpet town.
“We are investigating these cases, we learned that processed food (chorizo) made its way to one of the villages,” Mangelen said.
Also read: Over 300,000 pigs culled due to ASF; 20 new outbreaks recorded
Several pigs mysteriously died in the past two days forcing hog farmers to seek help from the municipal agriculture office.
Domestic hog raisers at the villages of Tagbac and Pangao-an also reported deaths of their domestic animals.
The local government started on July 19, the culling of live hogs within the one-kilometer radius from the site of infection to prevent the disease from spreading and affecting pigs in nearby barangays.
The government would also pay the culled hogs. The price would be according to the current market price of live meat.
Meanwhile, Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco already ordered the Magpet local government of Magpet to prohibit the transport or delivery of live pigs and processed meat in a 5-km radius from areas with ASF cases.
Officials would also put the Magpet under lockdown to prevent the entry and exit of pigs and meat products from the town, Sorupia said.
“We will compel delivery trucks to open their vehicle for inspection to stop the entry of contaminated meat products,” he said.