ITC-PH declares Batangas province ASF-freeITC-PH declares Batangas province ASF-free

MANILA – After 16 months of battling African swine fever (ASF), the International Training Center on Pig Husbandry (ITC-PH) declared that the province of Batangas is the first to be cleared of the virus.

Lipa City and the municipalities of Rosario, Malvar, Taysan, San Jose, and Nasugbu were certifed ASF-free zones on Friday by ITC-PH.

The first ASF case in the province was recorded in Laurel on February 2020.

“This is the first local declaration that happened in our country, and Region 4-A particularly Batangas once again led in battling ASF,” Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Romel Marasigan said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Bantay sa Barangay Kontra ASF (BABay ASF) was the hardest but most important among the measure implemented, considering that it included consistent monitoring at the grassroots level, he said.

“It has been a challenge to pursue but with the accomplishment in Batangas, it shows that it can be done,” Bureau of Animal Industry veterinarian Dr. Samuel Castro said in a statement.

He also encouraged the declared ASF-free areas to document their best practices to help other regions move forward.

The ITC-PH said challenges in the availability of test kits, facilities, and laboratories were encountered as well as mobility restrictions due to the pandemic that evidently slowed down the surveillance activities, investigations, and repopulation.