More than 100 pigs were reported dead across the region as of January 19, confirming the highly contagious viral disease.
A pigsty in Umung village of Manggarai district, Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, where the return of the African swine fever virus is causing panic. (Photo supplied)
Indonesian authorities have warned citizens of the Christian-majority East Nusa Tenggara province against the likely outbreak of deadly African swine fever in several districts.
Melky Angsar, head of the province’s Animal Health Division, said tests of samples taken in recent days from dead pigs in Kupang and East Flores districts confirmed the highly contagious viral disease from pigs.
As of January 19, more than 100 dead pigs have been reported across the region.
In Kupang district, where the virus was first detected, the government recorded the sudden death of 48 pigs due to high fever accompanied by other symptoms of the viral disease.
The province has a population of 5.5 million people, most of whom keep pigs, both as a source of additional income and for traditional ceremonies.
The region is home to about 33 percent of Indonesia’s pigs. According to 2021 data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the pig population in East Nusa Tenggara was about 2.5 million, while in Indonesia it was 7.6 million.
“Over the past two days, we have distributed disinfectants to farmers in Kupang district to spray inside the pig pens,” he told the state-run Antara news agency.
The spread of the disease could kill the pigs on an entire farm, pushing them into poverty. The viral infection, however, spreads between humans, according to reports.
Maximus Jujur Nohos, head of animal husbandry services in the East Manggarai district on the island of Flores, urged farmers to increase vigilance to prevent the entry and spread of the virus.
“Do not buy pork and processed pork products from areas where the health status of livestock and their processed products is unknown,” it stated in a circular.
Residents were also told to “report to the local government if they found pigs sick or dying suddenly.”
Similar announcements were made in districts throughout the province.
Yohanes Jehadun, 31, a villager from Umung, Manggarai district, said people were scared.
He himself had raised five pigs while his uncle had a herd of 34. “This information worries us,” he told UCA News.
Meanwhile, Franciscan Father Philipus Adisulistyo, chaplain of María Reina de los Ángeles parish in Kuruboko, Ngada district in central Flores, said he too is concerned about the fate of the 12 pigs they kept in the parish.
He recalled that during the last ASF outbreak in 2020, they had suffered a huge loss as 28 of their pigs had died.
“I hope the government will take concrete steps to handle this outbreak,” he said.
Yohanes Simarmata, a veterinarian at Nusa Cendana State University in Kupang, said this is the third wave in the province after 2020 and 2021, in which 122,000 pigs died, according to government data.
He said that the trigger was the acquisition of pigs from outside the province without due attention to the health condition of the purchased pigs and the state of hygiene during transportation.
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