Nigerian pig farmers urged to take precautions to forestall outbreak of ASF

Pig farmers across the country have been advised to take necessary precautions to forestall the outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF), an infectious disease that attacks pigs.

The advice came on the back of a recent outbreak of the disease in Indonesia, a situation which has triggered concerns in the country over disruption of exports to neighbouring countries.

Indonesian Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, had said that the infections were expected to cause a temporary interruption to the exports of both live pigs and freshly slaughtered pork.

Limpo told reporters at his office in Jakarta that, “currently, the number of pigs infected by the disease was not too high but it has affected our exports quite a lot. This was because most of live pigs and pork produced in Indonesia go for exports.”

The disease is harmless to humans but highly contagious and fatal for pigs as there is no known cure.

Limpo revealed that data from the Department of Agriculture and Food Security of Luwu Timur Regency showed that from May 12 to 15, more than 17,100 pigs, or nearly half of the total 38,556 pigs in the region, died from the disease and the number is expected to increase.

By Chinyere Anyanwu

https://sunnewsonline.com/nigerian-pig-farmers-urged-to-take-precautions-to-forestall-outbreak-of-asf/