PHO tells public to cook food well

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Provincial Health officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan on Wednesday urged the public to cook their food well amid apprehension that hog cholera can also affect humans.

Pinongan assured that hog cholera is not contagious to humans, however, she said that basic sanitation should be observed especially when cooking food.

“Make sure that the food you eat is well cooked,” Pinongan said.

She added that cleanliness should be observed not only in cooking but in one’s surroundings as well.

Meanwhile, Governor Eugenio Lacson issued Executive Order No. 23- 19 Wednesday night activating an Incident Command System and creating an Incident Management Team (IMT) in response to the deaths of more than 2,000 hogs in the province.

The IMT was also directed to set up a management mechanism against animal biosecurity threats.

The EO also mandates heightened patrol in all seaports, transportation terminals, and borders to stop illegal meat shipment into the province, inter-border checkpoints, and deployment of K-9 units to prevent the spread of swine disease.

The governor said that areas in the third and fourth districts in the province have been “red-flagged” due to pig deaths caused mainly by hog cholera.

Records from the provincial capitol showed that a total of 2,421 pigs died due to hog cholera in the province.

Bago City has the most number of pig deaths at 755, followed by San Enrique with 726.

Other LGUs hit by hog cholera are Valladolid with 373 pig deaths, La Carlota City (169), Pulupandan (143), and Pontevedra (113).

All these LGUs are in the 4th district of the province.

Also affected by hog cholera are EB Magalona town in the 3rd district which recorded 105 pig deaths, Manapla town in the second district with 35 pig deaths, and Hinigaran town with 2 pig deaths.