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MIRI – About 1,640 pigs in Sibu district in central Sarawak have been infected by the African swine fever.
Sarawak Ministry for Agriculture Modernisation and Regional Development said the pigs were detected with the disease in three farms.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom has issued a directive for mass culling of these animals in the infected pig farms in Sibu.
“It is confirmed that there is an outbreak of African swine flu in three pig farms in Sibu. The mass culling and depopulation of the pigs and animals in the farms are being done.
“This is to prevent the disease from spreading to other parts of Sarawak,” he said in a statement.
The culled animals and all the animal feed will be buried, he said.
Dr Rundi said culling is the only way to stop the spread of the swine flu.
“There is no vaccine against the swine flu. Every infected farm must be sealed off, and all the infected animals culled.
“The disease can cause huge economic losses if not stopped from spreading,” he said.
Dr Rundi said the Veterinary Department has been told to step up checks in all pig farms statewide.
Sibu has over the past two years been already ravaged by the Covid-19 crisis.
The swine flu there is believed to have started when pigs started to die suddenly in the farms owned by private entrepreneurs. – The Vibes, February 18, 2022