Hogs in Negros Occidental are safe from the cholera and swine flu outbreak that hit piggeries in Bulacan this week, Albert R.T. Lim, president of the Negros Occidental Hog Raisers Association, said yesterday.

"There's no danger (that) Negros Occidental will be affected," he said, especially now that the Bureau of Animal Industry has imposed quarantine measures in the affected areas in Luzon. Lim, who is also president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., said that swines in Bacolod and Negros Occidental are primarily vaccinated against hog cholera, which is described as an "acute, highly infectious viral disease, also called swine fever."

He said that during his meeting with BAI Director Divino Catbagan yesterday, he was informed that the cholera and flu cases were only monitored in backyard piggeries, not in commercial hog farms.

But there's no cause for alarm over the Bulacan outbreak because hog cholera can be cured, he said.

"I'm confident that the cholera cases can be placed under control," he added.

Bulacan is one of the largest sources of pork in the country. It has about 300 hog and swine farms, about 80 percent of which are commercial farms while the rest are backyard enterprises.

Its provincial veterinary office has reported that hog cholera was initially monitored in backyard farms in three towns but latest reports indicated that some case were found in 12 of the 21 towns and three cities in Bulacan.

Although the cases were reported in 43 barangays in the 12 towns, commercial farms in the area remain unaffected by the virus.*NLG

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