Bontoc volunteers help control ASF virus spread

By Alpine Killa- Malwagay

BONTOC, Mountain Province- Barangays in this capital town are ready to assist government contain further spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus since pigs and piglets infected with the ASF virus were reported from October last to February 2022.
    This, following the recent conduct of  training on specimen collection for barangay biosecurity officers of Bontoc funded by the Dept. of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute regional office.
    As its counterpart, the provincial government through the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian provided resource speakers during the one-day training which was participated in by 12 BBOs.
    BBOs refer to individuals at barangays or any assigned person by the LGU who will serve as front liners for ASF control in barangays.
    In Bontoc, most of the BBOs who attended the training were barangay kagawad, barangay health workers, and volunteers.
    According to agricultural technologist Sheryl Kate Tumingeb from the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, the training aimed to control and prevent spread of the ASF virus at barangay levela through disease surveillance and monitoring, reporting, investigation, response, and implementation of biosecurity measures.
    She said the training provided the BBOs skills and knowledge as they were updated with the status of the ASF Infection in Bontoc.
    Also, resource speakers discussed duties and functions of BBOs and biosecurity on farms and specimen collections.
Tumingeb added trained BBOs will soon receive kits from the DA-ATI regional office so they will be equipped with necessary logistics as frontliners of the Bantay ASF sa barangay program.
    Each kit contains a tool kit box, disposable syringe, ice box chest, coolant, rubber boots and cover, alcohol, face mask, umbrella, scrub suit, vacutainer (5ml), vacutainer needle, vacutainer needle holder, nitrile gloves, pig restrainer, sterile cotton swab (six inches), plastic, animal marker, and zip lock.
    The OMAg said as of March 2, a total of 134 hogs were reported dead while 78 were sick.
    Of reported death and sick hogs, only nine were confirmed infected with the ASF virus.
    Meanwhile, of the sick hogs, 11 tested negative with ASF and have been fully recovered.
    The prevention of the spread of the ASF virus to hogs is attributed to the immediate intervention of the government through blood sampling, disinfection in pigpens, and intensified Information education and communication campaign among swine raisers, meat vendors, and the public.
    Likewise, the ASF municipal task force earlier appealed to the public, meat vendors, and butchers that pigs raised and butchered in the ASF-affected areas will be sold and consumed within the said area.
    The task force urged the public to refrain from buying fresh or frozen pork products coming from outside the province.
    Consumers from outskirt barangays of Bontoc were advised not to buy live or butchered pigs from identified ASF-affected areas to prevent the entry of the ASF virus in their respective barangays.