Although There Is No Longer African Swine Fever Since August 2021, Manokwari Distanak Remains Vigilant About Sending Blood Samples To Maros

Head of Livestock at the Manokwari Agriculture and Livestock Service, Nixon Karubaba (ANTARA)

MANOKWARI - The Department of Agriculture and Livestock (Distanak) of Manokwari Regency, West Papua, is still monitoring the deaths of pigs in the area due to the attack of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus or African swine fever.

Head of Livestock at Manokwari Distanak Nixon Karubaba said that since August 2021 until now there have been no more cases of pig deaths due to ASF virus attacks.

Even so, he said, to anticipate the possibility that the ASF virus might still be present, the pig's blood sample was sent to the Laboratory of the Veterinary Center (BBVET) Maros, South Sulawesi, this week.

"Last week we sent 30 samples of pig blood to Makassar and now we are just waiting for the results. Since August 2021 until now, there have been no more cases of dead pigs," Karubaba explained in Manokwari as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, July 12.

In 2020, he continued, the Manokwari Regency Government Distanak recorded the deaths of 1.550 community-owned pigs due to the ASF virus attack. According to Karubaba, pigs that have been exposed to the ASF virus will certainly die 100 percent.

In order to prevent the spread of the ASF virus from spreading further, on 7 April 2021 the Manokwari Agriculture and Livestock Service issued a letter prohibiting the entry and exit of animals and pork into the Manokwari area.

Despite the ban, he said, in practice, there are still individuals who send livestock and pork out of the region because of the high market price.

For people who want to slaughter their pigs, they must first report to the officer to check the health condition of the livestock.