Disease killing pigs in Pampanga reaches Bulacan

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – The provincial veterinary office (PVET) reported yesterday that a disease which has hounded pigs in some towns has apparently “crossed boundaries” despite the quarantine measures in place and has reached neighboring Bulacan.

The office of Gov. Eddie Panlilio said the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which was first reported in San Simon town in the first week of May, now affects 11 towns in Pampanga and has even reached Hagonoy in Bulacan.

Exact figures on PRRS deaths among pigs were not immediately available, but the PVET said that in Minalin town alone, 52 pigs reportedly died of the disease recently.

“The affected pigs manifest diarrhea, inappetence (lack of appetite) and vomiting,” PVET officer Michael Castro said.

New PRRS cases were reported in the towns of Sta. Ana, Apalit, Minalin, Sto. Tomas, Sta. Rita and Sasmuan, bringing to 11 the total number of municipalities affected in this province.

According to the PVET, 20 hog raisers in seven barangays in Minalin reported that their animals have been affected, while in Sto. Tomas, nine sows reportedly got infected, two of which eventually died.

“Livestock technicians from Sta. Ana, Apalit, and Sta. Rita have confirmed PRRS cases and we are expecting details anytime. In Sasmuan town, two barangays have already been affected,” Castro informed Panlilio.

In a report, the PVET said a total of 10,500 doses of PRRS vaccines have arrived from the Bureau of Animal Industry, even as 9,000 doses have already been distributed to the affected areas.

Castro assured consumers that pork being sold in local markets is safe to eat, as “treatment of animals and disinfection of affected areas to prevent further proliferation of the disease” continues.

“We have given out forms to municipal agriculturists to help them assess regularly the PRRS situation in their areas,” he said.

Castro said pork and other meat products being sold in markets “are safe since all our slaughterhouses are inspected regularly with the help of the National Meat Inspection Service.”

Strict quarantine was initially imposed in backyard piggeries in San Simon and parts of Mexico town where the first cases of PRRS were reported last month.

Records show that the hog industry in the United States incurs $600 million in losses yearly.

In Pangasinan, meanwhile, the demand for pork has dropped by 50 percent due to swine flu scare.

“The people are still asking me if it is safe now to eat pork so in their minds there’s that big doubt about A(H1N1),” said Dr. Benedicto Perez, the provincial veterinarian.

“Good thing, however, is pork price remains steady at P150 to P160 per kilo,” he said. – With Eva Visperas