Dozens Of Pigs Died Suddenly In Agam, West Sumatra Allegedly Because Of This Virus

PHOTO VIA ANTARA/Residents talk about the case of dozens of dead wild pigs

AGAM - Dozens of wild pigs in Maua Hilia, Jorong Kayu Pasak Timur, Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan District, Agam Regency, West Sumatra were found to have died suddenly, allegedly due to African Swine Fever (ASF) or the African swine flu virus in early November.

One of the residents of Maua Hilia, Peli (40) in Lubuk Basung said dozens of wild pigs were found dead at several points in his garden.

"I found the pig in a rotting condition in several locations one month ago," he said, quoted by Antara, Saturday, December 4.

He said the pig was found while cleaning the garden and he had a bad smell while working, so he tried to find the source of the smell and found three dead pigs.

After that, Peli cleaned the garden at another location and smelled the bad smell again.

"I found 15 pig carcasses in several locations," he said.

A few days after that, Peli also found a pig carcass on his farm.

On this finding, he added, he was surprised that a large number of pigs had died, so he tried to ask other residents if there were people hunting pigs in the area.

"If someone is hunting, only one or two pigs will die and the carcass must be injured. Meanwhile, the pig carcasses that I found were not injured," said Peli.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Agam Natural Resources Conservation Agency (KSDA), Ade Putra, added that the Agam KSDA team was collecting data considering that the incident had taken place one month ago and would coordinate with other relevant agencies.

"The condition of the pig carcass has been damaged and we are coordinating with other relevant agencies," he said.

Previously in West Pasaman Regency, dozens of pigs died suddenly in 2020.

In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that Indonesia was on the first alert to deal with this swine flu virus, various steps involving the parties had been taken in an effort to prevent and deal with it.

Head of the Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health Division of the Agam Agriculture Service, Farid Muslim, added that the sudden death of the pig could not be confirmed whether it was exposed to the ASF virus, because laboratory tests were needed on samples of the pig's organs.

His party has not received reports of pig deaths from residents and if it is later found that pigs die suddenly, it is necessary to take a sample of the pig's organs for laboratory testing at the Veterinary Center, so that it can be known whether they have been exposed to ASF or not.

"We can't say for sure if the pigs have been exposed to ASF," he said.

Clinical signs of ASF include redness of the abdomen, chest, scrotum, bloody diarrhea, lumps together and redness of the ears, fever (41 degrees Celsius), conjunctivitis, anorexia, ataxia, paresis, seizures, sometimes vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation.

ASF can be spread through direct contact, insects, clothing, livestock equipment, vehicles, and more.