The Department of Agriculture has placed eight barangays of Don Marcelino in Davao Occidental on lockdown to prevent the spread of African swine fever while General Santos City has sealed off its borders to prevent the entry of all possible infected pork products.
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Don Marcelino has been placed under a state of calamity after samples drawn from around 1,000 dead pigs tested positive for African swine fever in barangays Lindasan, North Lamidan, South Lamidan, Calian, Mabuhay, Lawa, Nueva Villa and Baluntayan.
“Theories are being investigated as to how the virus reached the isolated town,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said Monday.
Seven barangays in the town of Malita, also in Davao Occidental, are under surveillance.
In General Santos, city veterinary office head Antonio Marin said the local government has banned the entry of all pork products and live pigs from Davao Occidental and other areas in the wake of the confirmed cases of ASF.
Marin said they had assigned additional personnel to ensure the round-the-clock monitoring of the city’s entry and exit points, especially the highways leading to Davao Occidental.
The local government of Don Marcelino has already ordered the activation of a Regional Animal Disease Task Force to focus on ASF cases.
Transporting hogs in and out of the municipality, as well as selling pork will be prohibited, Don Marcelino Mayor Michael Maruya said.
Authorities will also establish animal quarantine checkpoints in the entry points around the municipality.
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