LAHAD DATU – Some 2,000 pigs and 1,000 wild bearded pigs in Pitas will be culled to curb the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the district, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
Kitingan in a statement today said the wild bearded pigs are within a 50km radius of the district, which includes a Pitas village.
Today, 22 domestic pigs in Pitas have been culled.
“Wild and stray pigs will also be considered for culling, if necessary, to ensure ASF does not spread to nearby districts,” the state agriculture and fisheries minister said.
He added that the state Veterinary Services Department has conducted campaigns in 25 Pitas villages to increase community awareness of the ASF.
“The campaign will take place at a total of 182 villages. The department has carried out a similar social media campaign much earlier.
“The ministry will increase surveillance outside Pitas. So far, through the department, it has already collected 120 samples from other districts for ASF detection.
“Samples were also obtained from pig slaughterhouses, commercial pork sales centres and vendors selling smoked wild bearded pig (sinalau bakas).
“In the event that the virus is detected outside of Pitas, the affected districts will also be declared ASF areas in accordance with the Animal Enactment 2015, giving the department full authority to carry out disease management via the district Disaster Management Committee.”
Kitingan said the focus now is to contain the virus from spreading outside of Pitas.
“However, if this happens, we will do everything we can to protect our main pig-farming areas to ensure Sabah’s pork production remains unaffected.”
He reminded all commercial pork operators to increase biosecurity management in their respective farms and to report all swine deaths to the department for investigation purposes.
Following the discovery of a dead wild bearded pig at a resort in Kinabatangan, the Veterinary Services Department, in cooperation with the state Wildlife Department, has set up a team to collect samples and investigate the cause of death.
The result of the laboratory test is expected to be obtained by tomorrow.
“I would like to remind the public once again that there is no medicine or vaccine for the ASF,” Kitingan said.
“However, the virus is not a zoonotic disease, which means it does not spread to humans.” – The Vibes, February 28, 2021
