MANILA, Sept 9 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines confirmed today (Monday), the first case of African swine fever (ASF) in the country.
The country’s acting Agriculture Secretary, William Dar, said that, the ASF virus caused the deaths of a substantial number of hogs in the Philippines last month.
He said, the blood samples of the infected hogs that were sent to a laboratory in Britain tested positive for ASF.
“Twenty blood samples have been sent but out of the 20, 14 are positive with ASF,” Dar told a news conference.
The affected areas are in the towns in Rizal and Bulacan provinces. All affected areas have now been cleared.
He said, the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), is still awaiting results of another test to determine how strong the virus is, adding that, it is not clear yet how virulent these viruses are.
Dar said, the second test will show the intensity of the virus affecting pigs, which will be out in a week.
ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever in pigs and can be spread via fomites and uncooked pig products. The disease has up to 100 percent mortality rates.– NNN-PNA
