BY MALU CADELINA MANAR
KIDAPAWAN CITY – At least 324 hogs were culled and buried in a public cemetery here after the animals showed symptoms of African Swine Fever (ASF) infection on August 16, a village official said.
Rodolfo Rodriguez, chairman of Barangay Linangkob, said among those culled hogs were owned by one of their village councilors.
The first case was recorded in Purok Mangosteen in Barangay Linangkob and spread to two adjacent puroks, according to the barangay official.
He hinted the virus could have been carried by waters coming from Marbol River in Magpet town, considered the ”ground zero” of ASF in North Cotabato.
“Most of our backyard hog raisers get their water in cleaning their backyard hog farms from a river stream connected to Marbol River,” said Rodriquez.
They also found out that the deadly pig virus from Magpet town could have sneaked to Linangkob through other routes or without passing the quarantine checkpoints. (Malu Cadelina Manar)
