Philippines confirms African swine fever outbreak in Cebu
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[March 08, 2023]
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' agriculture department on
Wednesday confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever in central Cebu
province, and has deployed response teams to detect the extent of
infection.
The department's Bureau of Animal Industry said 58 out of 149 blood
samples from Carcar City in Cebu tested positive for the diseases, which
is not harmful to humans but is highly contagious among pigs.
The latest outbreak adds to the list of active African swine fever cases
in 12 of the Southeast Asian country's more than 80 provinces, based on
the agriculture department's latest data.
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"All swine raisers and stakeholders
are encouraged to report any unusual pig mortalities and sickness to
their respective agriculture/veterinary offices," the bureau said in
a statement.
African swine fever was first detected in the
Philippines in 2019, prompting the culling of thousands of pigs
since then and significantly reducing the domestic hog population.
Reduced domestic pork supply prompted the Philippines to ramp up
meat importation as local prices shot up, adding pressure on
inflation.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty)
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