DVS to confirm cause of pigs’ death in Durin, Bintangor next week

KUCHING: The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Sarawak will confirm the cause of the mass deaths of pigs belonging to farmers in Durin and Bintangor next week.

Its director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud when contacted yesterday said that their ongoing investigations found that all of the pigs had died in December last year.

“No new deaths were reported as of today,” he said, adding that aside from Durin and Bintangor, no other areas in Sarawak were reporting similar cases.

He also assured that DVS was keeping close tabs on any new potential new cases by conducting surveillance and close monitoring of all pig farms in the state.

“Since last year, there were no reports of abnormal mortality in commercial pig farms,” said Dr Adrian.

If the cause of death is African Swine Fever (ASF), Dr Adrian said that the virus was not zoonotic, meaning it is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. ASF is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, where there are neither vaccines nor cures for the pigs.

“We want to assure the public that pork consumption is safe,” he added.

However, he advised farmers to strengthen their farm biosecurity and avoid feeding their pigs with food scraps or waste containing meat. Farmers are also instructed to report to the nearest DVS office if there are any cases of sudden death in large numbers of pigs, adding that they can send a WhatsApp message to their hotline at 016-2840918.

It was reported Friday that two villages in Bintangor and one longhouse in Durin reported mass deaths of their pigs, with over 200 pigs reported to have died from an illness suspected to be caused by ASF.