The Office of the City Veterinarian (OcVet) reported on Tuesday that this city has no African swine fever (ASF) case because of heightened decontamination measures.

Dr. Eugene Gornez, the city veterinarian, said they managed to contain the disease’s spread in the four ASF-infected villages of Gayola, Linangkob, Mua-an, and Sikitan.

“We, however, are not letting our guards down against the hog disease,” Gornez said.

OcVet data showed that Barangay Linangkob has the highest recorded depopulated hogs with 310 out of the total 758 owned by 142 hog raisers.

The number, Gornez said, comprises six percent of the total hog supply in the city.

He said ASF cases here were only recorded from September 15 to October 15, 2020.

“After that period, no ASF cases were monitored based on samples tested at the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in General Santos City, Gornez said.

Despite this, he said the OcVet continues to gather samples regularly for testing at the regional BAI office.

“We are keen on raising several piglets at the ground zero and if they survive, then we can safely say that we are an ASF-free area,” the OcVet official said.

Amid the latest development, Gornez said ASF checkpoints will remain in the city’s strategic zones until further notice. (PNA)