BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan: The Provincial Veterinary Office here said on Tuesday that it has not detected the presence of African swine fever (ASF) from the 18 pig carcasses dumped on the side of the road in Gattaran town on Sunday.
Residents in the area speculated that the carcasses were abandoned on a vacant lot by the roadside in Barangay Santa Maria because the pigs were carriers of the dreaded ASF virus.
Dr. Myka Ponce of the Provincial Veterinary Office said initial test results show no signs of ASF from the dead hogs. She said the carcasses were immediately buried and the local government of Gattaran has disinfected and sanitized the surrounding area.
However, samples were taken for more laboratory tests.
Ponce said there are no large-scale hog raisers in Gattaran and there are no ASF cases reported in the town.
“The town (Gattaran) has no registered commercial hog raisers, except for backyard raisers who have minimal heads being taken care of,” she said, adding that the hogs might have come from other towns or provinces.
The only town in Cagayan province with confirmed cases of ASF this year was Lasam, the veterinarian added.
However, Ponce noted the possibility that the pigs came from another place and were dumped in the place where they were found.
Live hogs, fresh, frozen pork, and processed products continue to be delivered to and from the province as the total ban was lifted in an executive order of Gov. Manuel Mamba when the Covid-19 status was downgraded to Alert Level 1.