June 8, 2009
PRRS spreads to Philippine province despite quarantine measures
Philippine provincial veterinary office (PVET) reported that porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has spread and reached to neighbouring province Bulacan despite the quarantine measures in place.
The office of governor Eddie Panlilio said the disease 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, central Luzon.
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.
New PRRS cases were reported in the towns of Santa Ana, Apalit, Minalin, Santo Tomas, Santa Rita and Sasmuan, bringing to 11 the total number of municipalities affected in this province.
In a report, the PVET said a total of 10,500 doses of PRRS vaccines have arrived from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), even as 9,000 doses have already been distributed to the affected areas.
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.
In Pangasinan, meanwhile, the demand for pork has dropped by 50 percent due to the AH1N1 flu scare.
