Philippines sets up a task force to investigate mortality in pigs
A crisis management team has been set up by the government in manilla to investigate a large number of pig deaths in some parts of the country as the authorities fear that the ASF virus has entered the country.
The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported increased mortality of pigs in backyard farms, but further laboratory tests were needed to confirm any outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), mentioned the Secretary for Agriculture William Dar, according to Reuters.
The Filipino pig industry is worth $5 billion and an ASF outbreak could be disastrous for the country. The disease has already spread in 7 Asian countries and is hard to contain, as FAO and OIE experts have warned. The Philippines has already banned pork imports from several countries such as China, Vietnam, Laos, Germany, North Korea, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, and Mongolia.
William Dar said that the crisis team has the mission to "manage, contain and control the suspected animal disease or diseases". The results from lab tests are expected to be presented in two weeks.
More than 5 million pigs were culled in Asia due to the ASF outbreaks that appeared in the last 12 months. Official reports from China show that the country's pig inventory has declined by 32% in the last 12 months since the first case of ASF was reported in China.
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