African swine disease found in Philippines

[Mike J]

I hope this does not spiral out of control like China.  Any time the government tells me "not to worry", my rear sphincter tends to pucker up.  

https://www.yahoo.com/news/dead-pigs-philippines-backyard-farms-034637694.html

MANILA (Reuters) - Dead pigs found in some backyard farms in the Philippines tested positive for African swine fever, the country's agriculture chief said on Monday, the first outbreak of the virus detected in the world's 10th largest pork consumer.

The announcement was based on the results of laboratory tests requested by Agriculture Secretary William Dar after reports last month of an unusual number of pig deaths in backyard farms in Rizal province, near the Philippine capital of Manila.

The Philippines, the world's seventh largest pork importer, is the latest Asian nation to be hit by African swine fever despite efforts to protect its $5 billion hog industry that included a ban on pork imports.

"Out of the 20 blood samples (sent to the United Kingdom for testing), 14 are positive with African swine fever," he said in a media briefing.

Dar said further tests were needed to determine how virulent the strain found in the local hogs is. There is no cure or vaccine for the deadly and highly contagious disease, which does not affect people.

Graphic: Philippines reports first known outbreak of African swine fever - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/7/6327/6309/PhilippinesMeat.png

As of July 1, the Philippine swine herd was estimated at 12.7 million heads, including about 8 million pigs in backyard farms and 4.7 million in commercial farms, according to government data.

More than 7,000 hogs have been culled in the affected areas, some of them buried alive, Dar said.

The Philippines has so far banned pork and pork-based products from more than a dozen countries, including Vietnam, Laos and China. In China, the world's biggest pork consumer, the outbreak has spread through every province and region of the mainland, as well as to Hong Kong and Hainan island, reducing the size of the country's hog herd by one-third.

The Philippines' import ban also covers pork and pork-based products from Germany, North Korea, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, and Mongolia.

Inside the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has tightened animal quarantine and food safety measures, prohibiting the transport of live animals and meat products without health and shipping permits.

NO NEED TO FEAR PORK

Agriculture officials suspect the virus was brought to local farms via food scraps, or swill, from hotels and restaurants fed to pigs, or from imported pork products. They reminded farm owners that the transport, handling, disposal and sale of swill without proper permits and not in accordance with the existing regulations is unlawful.

They said the public should not fear eating pork, assuring that hogs that passed through the proper process of slaughtering and preparation are safe.

Before slaughtering, hogs are validated and assessed by a veterinarian, who then issues a medical certificate, the DA said in a statement.

Once slaughtered, the meats are stamped with a seal from the government's National Meat Inspection Service.

"We believe we have successfully managed the issue," the DA said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez sought to downplay the impact of African swine fever on food prices as he said consumers are likely to turn to poultry, beef and fish as substitutes.

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 minutes ago, Mike J said:

There is no cure or vaccine for the deadly and highly contagious disease, which does not affect people.

So if people eat local pork that has been infected, (and eventually they will), are they not going to get an kind of sickness?

[Mike J]

6 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

So if people eat local pork that has been infected, (and eventually they will), are they not going to get an kind of sickness?

From Wikipedia

<snip>

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family.[1] It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection. It persistently infects its natural hosts, warthogs, bushpigs, and soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros, which likely act as a vector, with no disease signs.[2] It does not cause disease in humans.[3][4] ASFV is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and exists in the wild through a cycle of infection between ticks and wild pigs, bushpigs, and warthogs. The disease was first described after European settlers brought pigs into areas endemic with ASFV and, as such, is an example of an 'emerging infectious disease'.

<end snip>

[sonjack2847]

Are you sure it`s pigs as it might be mad cow disease. Just joking this is surely going to spiral out of control as nobody sticks to the laws here do they. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

19 minutes ago, Mike J said:

It does not cause disease in humans

I read and I do not believe.  I cannot imagine knowingly eating a pig who was dead or dying of some disease and not getting at least some kind of food poisoning.  And you can be sure the locals will sell any pork from disease dead pigs.  They will not be able to take the financial loss of just burying or burning it.

[GeoffH]

We drove from Cagayan De Oro yesterday (there is an eatery in the country that does a wonderful goat stew) through Manolo Fortich towards Bukidnon.

There now (and has been for a while) a compulsory stop where all vehicles have to stop, the passengers get out (or off) and put your feet in a concrete square with a sponge filled with liquid (some sort of disinfectant?).

Bukidon raises a lot of pigs and I guess they’re trying to keep swine flu out of the area.

However when we went through the previous time the stop was manned and every  one was using it but this time it was unmanned, the cars stopped and the buses but I saw a number of people just walk past, or in one case a motorbike with 3 people on it stopped and they just waved the child to go and do it while they sat on the motorbike.  And it looked like the fluid in the concrete squares hadn’t been changed for a long time.

*shrug* It’s the Philippines 

Edited September 10, 2019 by GeoffH

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I read and I do not believe.  I cannot imagine knowingly eating a pig who was dead or dying of some disease and not getting at least some kind of food poisoning.  And you can be sure the locals will sell any pork from disease dead pigs.  They will not be able to take the financial loss of just burying or burning it.

I know this does not necessarily mean anything, but did see this in online news and thought I would pass it on...

The Department of Health on Monday gave assurances that pork is safe to eat since the African swine fever (ASF) poses no threat to humans.

It said ASF is a severe and highly contagious viral disease that affects only domestic and wild pigs.

”We want to allay the fears of the public by saying that, as long as pork is bought from reliable source and it is cooked thoroughly, pork is safe to eat,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said in a statement.

Duque advised those handling pigs to wash their hands and clean their shoes to prevent the spread of the virus. He also urged the public to support the measures implemented by the Department of Agriculture and to work closely with concerned agencies.

The Agriculture department has given assurances that it will implement measures to curb the spread of the swine flu virus.

[jimeve]

2 hours ago, sonjack2847 said:

Are you sure it`s pigs as it might be mad cow disease. Just joking this is surely going to spiral out of control as nobody sticks to the laws here do they. 

My ex was a mad cow.

 

[sonjack2847]

1 hour ago, jimeve said:

My ex was a mad cow.

 

My current is after all she has been with me 9 years, and it shows bless her

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

as long as pork is bought from reliable source

Aye, there's the rub.