The fatal disease that brought China’s pork industry to its knees continues to strike fear in the hearts of many hog farmers in Asia. Just recently, Jakarta reported that African swine fever (ASF) killed nearly 30,000 pigs in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province. It was the first time for Indonesia to record an outbreak of the disease.
Elsewhere in Asia, the World Organisation for Animal Health, or OIE, reported that South Korea had notified nine new outbreaks affecting wild boar, while Russia notified five outbreaks affecting wild boar. The OIE’s monitoring from December 6 to 19 also indicated that 600 outbreaks were recorded in Europe, where the Philippines continues to source its pork products. Germany, the country’s top source of imports, has undertaken additional steps to keep ASF at bay.
In its latest ASF situation report, the OIE said there were 1,013 new outbreaks from December 6 to December 19. The total ongoing ASF incidence worldwide is at 12,233 outbreaks, higher than the 11,730 reported as of December 5. Of the number of ongoing outbreaks, Vietnam—another Asean neighbor—accounted for 8,273, while Romania reported 3,031.
What these figures show is that the ASF problem is far from over, and there appears to be no stopping the disease from showing up elsewhere. Compounding the matter for many nations is the fact that the ASF virus can live for days, even in nonliving things. This is a major factor behind the relative ease with which ASF spread in hog farms in China and other countries where the disease has struck.
The Philippines was not spared from the ravage of ASF, and its presence was detected just months after China revealed that the disease has spread to many hog farms within its borders. The suspected ground zero in the country was Rodriguez in Rizal province, which hosts a landfill where Metro Manila dumps its waste. Despite the national government’s efforts to contain the disease, ASF managed to spread to other provinces in Central Luzon, including Bulacan and Pampanga.
While there are no new outbreaks as evidenced by the decline in the number of samples that tested positive for the disease, the Philippines must not let its guard down. The country continues to import pork products from sources that share borders with ASF-infected nations. Germany, the Philippines’s top supplier of pork, is near Belgium where the disease struck wild boars.
The zoning plan is the most recent measure implemented by the Department of Agriculture, but it should make sure that other initiatives, such as foot baths in airports, remain in place. Other government agencies, like the Bureau of Customs, must continue to implement stringent measures related to inspection of goods from ASF-infected countries. The government must also step up its anti-smuggling efforts, given the possibility that the virus could be transmitted via infected products that will enter the Philippines illegally.
The Philippines is fortunate that the disease did not spread in other hog-producing areas, such as those in Visayas. The national government, local government units and other stakeholders must continue to work together to prevent the disease from infecting farms in Central and Southern Philippines. China’s experience has taught us a valuable lesson that we must all heed—complacency could kill an entire industry.