NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Officials in General Santos City, Mindanao, in the southern Philippines confirmed on Thursday one positive case of African swine fever (ASF) in the village of Purok San Lorenzo.

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

This is the first time ASF has been reported here in several years.

City Veterinary Office (CVO) chief, Dr. Antonio Ephraim Marin said the Department of Agriculture (DA) satellite laboratory in Barangay Lagao called him up to confirm the case.

“The finding was based on the laboratory test result in a blood sample taken from a backyard swine raiser in the village,” he said.

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A total of 508 hogs have been culled from the affected area since Tuesday.

General Santos City and nearby South Cotabato province, considered as the country’s top hog producers, have been under heightened alert since late 2019 due to the outbreak of ASF in different areas in the country.

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Since the Department of Agriculture confirmed the first outbreak in July 2019,  ASF spread to 50 out of  its 81 provinces.

The President has placed the country under a state of calamity for a period of one year due to the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak effective 10 May 2021.

African swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease affecting pigs and wild boar with up to 100% case fatality rate.

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