The Department of Agriculture (DA) is preparing an emergency procurement of African swine fever (ASF) vaccines to help contain an outbreak of the disease in Batangas.
“The local government units may need to declare a state of emergency in these Batangas municipalities to enable the DA to respond swiftly to the situation and release funds for the urgent purchase of vaccines,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday.
Aside from the vaccine, Tiu Laurel said the DA will also provide hog producers in Batangas with industrial lime to treat areas where condemned swine are buried.
The DA is also coordinating with the police and the military to help impede the spread of ASF-infected animals.
DA Assistant Secretary Dante Palabrica, a doctor of veterinary medicine and in-charge of swine and poultry, said the DA may need to purchase at least 10,000 doses of ASF vaccines as emergency response.
This means abbreviating the procurement period by two weeks.
The DA said local government units (LGU) also have the authority to declare a state of emergency in affected areas to control the outbreak.
