Bad News From Bengkulu, Dozens Of Wild Boars Died Of Swine Flu

Officers found a dead wild boar in a conservation area in Bengkulu Province. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Officials from the Bengkulu-Lampung Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) said that 12 wild boars in the Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS) in the North Bengkulu Regency were found dead due to infection with the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus or what could be called African swine flu. Head of Program Affairs and Cooperation of the Bengkulu-Lampung BKSDA, Erni Suyati said that her party received information from the team at the resort, on August 27, 2021, that many wild boars died suddenly inside the conservation area. there have been wild boars that died suddenly and we did not investigate the disease because there are already related agencies such as the livestock and animal health services," Erni said in Bengkulu, quoted by Antara, Monday, September 6. found a dead wild boar, his party carried out an investigation in the area and carried out a surgical operation pick it up on August 28, 2021 by taking a sample of the pig and performing a verological examination to detect ASF.

Furthermore, the Bengkulu BKSDA coordinated with the Center for Veterinary Research of the Ministry of Agriculture in Bengkulu Province and from the examination it was found that the 12 wild boars that died suddenly were positive for the African Swine Fever virus. "The ASF virus only attacks wild boars and domesticated pigs and the transmission of this virus is very fast through direct or indirect contact and even death due to the ASF virus is very high in five days. In 2019-2021, according to Erni, ASF cases have been reported. in a neighboring province and is currently included in the Bengkulu Province. In fact, Bengkulu Province is a supplier of wild boar meat in large quantities outside Bengkulu Province, so it is feared that it will affect the spread of the virus. , but humans can carry the virus to other pigs or can be called intermediaries. For handling positive wild boar carcasses, the pigs must be destroyed or buried in plastic wrap and buried at a depth of two meters in the ground to break the transmission line. Erni explained that since July Until September 2021, in fact the spread of this virus exists and is evenly distributed in Bengkulu Province from Mukomuko Regency to the Bengkulu border with Lampung Province because it has received reports of wild boars that died suddenly. "We are worried that this virus will attack mountain pigs whose species are starting to become rare because the wild boars in Bengkulu may have been infected," he said.