KUCHING, July 26 — The Sarawak state government today asked operators of commercial pig farms to step up biosecurity measures against the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) among their livestock.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas also advised operators not to feed their pigs with restaurant or kitchen leftovers, as the ASF virus from contaminated pork products can survive the cooking process and is highly resistant.
“Currently, there is no treatment or vaccines available to control the disease and any infected farm will be quarantined and all pigs inside the farm will be depopulated and disposed of by on-site farm burial,” he said after meeting operators of commercial pig farms and representatives of the relevant government agencies here.
Uggah, who is also the state minister of agriculture, native land and regional development, said every attempt must be made to ensure ASF doesn’t reach Sarawak.
He also sought cooperation from all stakeholders, especially local pig farmers to step up their farms’ biosecurity measures, and also warned Sarawakians returning from abroad not to bring back pork and pork products from countries affected by ASF.
Uggah, who is also the state disaster management committee chairman, said the state Veterinary Services Department has issued circulars on December 26 last year and another on January 2 this year to importers, regarding the ban on the import of pork and pork products from affected countries.
He said the department is conducting checks in airports, seaports and in shops to make sure that pork and pork products brought in illegally are not sold to the public.
Uggah stressed that ASF is a highly virulent and contagious disease of the pigs and that the whole of Asia is now at risk.
He said China has informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) on August 3 last year of confirmed ASF cases in a domestic pig farm in the Liaoning province and has since spread to neighbouring countries such as Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
He added the governments of Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia and Malaysia are concerned after recent development.
Uggah said the disease has also been detected among wild pigs in European countries such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungry, Romania and Sardinia.
He said countries such as Germany and Spain are fencing their borders to prevent wild boars from coming into contact with their domestic pig population.
