Number of cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Philippines has reached outbreak level, Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed this morning.
ASF is a contagious disease that can cause death to domestic and wild pigs.
“ASF can be transmitted through direct contact with infected pigs, ingestion of contaminated materials such as food waste, feed or garbage, or contaminated fomites or biological vectors,” World Organization for Animal Health reported.
Moreover, floating dead pigs have been found along the river of Marikina and in a creek of Quezon amid the occurence of ASF cases last week.
“It was utterly irresponsible on the part of backyard raisers as they did not only violate current laws, but their misdoing also spread the disease pathogens much faster,” Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar mentioned in a report.
“Agriculture Secretary William Dar called on raisers to report any illness or death to their respective municipal or city veterinarians, who will, in turn, coordinate with the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry to determine the cause,” said in a report.
Last September 9,2019, Secretary Dar confirmed that ASF is already in the Philippines. Out of the 20 blood samples, 14 was determined to be positive.
Pork imports from China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, North Korea, Laos, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Germany and Romania were banned to prevent cases of ASF.
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