The study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hog raisers in compliance with the prevention and control program of African Swine Fever implemented by selected municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya. A total of 96 hog raisers and 7 local program implementers were the respondents of the study. The study was conducted from May-August 2022.

A set of questionnaires were developed and administered to the respondents. The data were collected through the key informants and personal interviews of the respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results were presented in narrative method and portrayed in tabular forms. The respondents were mostly married females, between 21 and more than 50 years old. The respondents were mainly from the llocano and Igorot ethnicities and predominated by Roman Catholics. Majority of the respondents have 5-9 household sizes, self-employed, engaged in hog raising for less than 5 years purposely for source of income. The backyard farm is the most common type of production scale with a grower to finisher production system.

Most of the respondents are knowledgeable of the causative agent, transmission, and clinical signs of the ASF Similarly, the respondents are highly aware of the stage of production, class of pigs affected, non-zoonotic potential, the need for a confirmatory diagnosis and unavailability of treatment or vaccine for the disease.

The respondents are not compliant with the recommended location in between piggeries, provision of signages, wearing of protective clothing and showering upon entering the farm premises, record-keeping and vehicle movement management practices. However, majority of the respondents are compliant with the proper way of disposing of suspected/confirmed carcasses, disease monitoring and surveillance activities, and post-outbreak contingency-related procedures.

African Swine Fever still exists in the province amidst the collaborative efforts of concerned government agencies involving policies and ordinances, information, education, and communication campaign strategies, border control, and the detection of African Swine Fever in piggeries and animal holding facilities. This was compounded by the unavailability of vaccines, the reluctance of hog raisers to disclose animal diseases, and the illegal movement of undocumented pigs and by-products.

Based on the results, recommendations were provided to improve compliance with Good Animal Husbandry Practices that would help eradicate African Swine Fever in the province.

Thesis (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)

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