Update Feb. 7: Bagus said he misspoke when asked for a statement about the African Swine Fever plaguing the island. Bali officials are now saying that they are only suspecting ASF to be the cause of mass swine deaths of recent months. Read on here.
Original story follows.
An official in Bali today confirmed that hundreds of swine deaths across the island were caused by the African Swine Fever (ASF) and said that authorities are on the case to contain the spread of the disease.
“Yes, the deaths were due to African Swine Fever, the lab results for it came out positive,” Ida Bagus Wisnuwardhana, who heads the agriculture and food security agency in Bali, told Kumparan.
According to Bagus, from the end of December until Jan. 27, the agency recorded a total of 888 pigs deaths across Bali. However, another source from the agency placed the number at nearly 1,200 pigs on Monday.
The pigs died after exhibiting similar symptoms, including high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Blood samples from the dead pigs were sent to a veterinary laboratory in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, which were said to be better-equipped than the ones in Bali.
ASF is a severe viral disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs, which can be spread by live or dead pigs, as well as pork products, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). There is currently no approved vaccine against ASF, and transmission can occur via contaminated feed or even non-living objects, including shoes, clothes, knives and vehicles, due to the virus’ high environmental resistance.
However, ASF is not considered a risk to human health.
Bagus suspect that the outbreak was triggered by pig farmers giving spoiled leftovers to their livestock.
“We will continue to inform citizens to prevent direct contact between healthy and sick pigs. To separate new pigs from their farm, especially if they are from outside of the region or imported,” he explained.
In addition, the agency will continue to carry out regular vaccinations of livestock and raise farmers’ awareness of the disease.
In Indonesia, ASF killed more than 42,000 pigs in North Sumatra since December 2019, while the outbreak itself has also swept across China, Vietnam, Cambodia and more recently, the Philippines.
The pig deaths in Bali have reportedly affected the price of pork in local markets, with farmers reporting prices of around IDR22,000 (US$1.60) per kilogram, from IDR27,000 per kilogram previously.
