Indonesia Investigates Deaths of 880 Pigs in Bali from December to January, African Swine Fever?

In Hindu-majority Bali, suckling pig known as babi guling is a local delicacy commonly enjoyed by tourists.

Unlike swine flu — also known as H1N1 — ASF does not pose a threat to human health. Nevertheless, humans can transmit the disease if their clothing and boots have been contaminated.

Fever spreads throughout the Philippines

Authorities in the southern Philippines province of Mindanao confirmed that around 1000 local pigs had died due to ASF.

The municipality of Don Marcelino is in lockdown, with the sale and transport of pigs, pork and pork by-products temporarily banned.

"Backyard pig farmers in the area practice group rearing of hogs, from different owners, most [of them without] proper housing provisions nor biosecurity practices," said the Philippine agriculture ministry.

Agriculture secretary William Dar has suggested that pork smuggled from China could be behind the outbreak in the Philippines.

The Philippines, which is the eighth largest pork producer in the world, recorded its first swine fever case in September last year, leading to at least 20,000 pigs being culled.

Cases of ASF have been reported across the country including in the capital Manila and surrounding areas.

Disease has devastated global pig population
African swine fever is a viral contagious disease which affects domestic and wild pigs.

In addition to high fever, symptoms include internal bleeding and haemorrhages on the skin.

There is no vaccine and it kills about 80 per cent of the pigs it infects. It is thought to have wiped out more than a quarter of the global pig population in 2019.

In China, which is the world's largest pork producer, it is estimated that 50-60 per cent of its pig population was decimated last year.

ASF was first reported in the Liaoning province of China in August 2018, and local authorities killed more than a million pigs in 2019 to curb the spread of the disease.

The cost of pork has increased by at least 40 per cent due to the spread of ASF, and the cost of other meats is also expected to rise as Chinese consumers turn to chicken, lamb and beef as alternative sources of protein.