A resurgence of African swine fever (ASF) in Indonesia’s southern East Nusa Tenggara province has reportedly killed tens of thousands of pigs, reports Mongabay.
Since the disease was discovered in China in August 2018, it has increasingly wreaked havoc in southeast Asia. ASF cases in East Nusa Tenggara province seemed to disappear from this region in late 2020, the article said, but has reared its head again in 2021.
On the island of Flores, famous for its Komodo dragons, Mongabay reports it’s been particularly hard hit with a single district losing up to 40% of its pig herd from ASF. In mid-March 2021, the virus had killed 35,000 pigs since February 2020. Nearby districts reported deaths for the same time period of between 6,000 and nearly 12,000 head.
An official with a local non-profit told Mongabay that he believes the death toll is far higher because many pig farmers haven’t been reporting the deaths of their animals to authorities. Many believe the country needs to do more to prevent the virus from continuing to spread.
ASF is a disease of pigs only and poses no human health risks. To learn more about ASF, visit Farm Journal’s PORK’s ASF page.
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