SANDAKAN: At least 100 Borneon bearded pigs in Sabah’s forest reserves have been found dead, suspected to be from the African swine fever (ASF) virus, said Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director Augustine Tuuga.
Since the discovery of 14 dead boars in Kinabatangan between December and January, the SWD has been finding at least one dead pig a day.
“The Sabah Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) couldn’t find signs of the virus in the dead wild pigs (in Kinabatangan) at first, but has now confirmed that they died from it.
“This follows the discovery of the virus in dead domestic pigs in Pitas (which was declared an outbreak area on Feb 23). The virus has also spread to other areas in Sabah,” Tuuga said today.
He said the source of infection was still being investigated.
While the virus doesn’t affect humans, it can severely affect Sabah’s economy and the state government’s wildlife and forest conservation efforts, he said, adding that hunting licences have been frozen since last year.
Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also state agriculture and fisheries minister, has declared some districts as ASF outbreak areas under the Animal Welfare Enactment 2015.
Among those listed are Pitas and Kota Marudu (involving domestic pigs), as well as Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Beluran, Telupid and Sandakan (wild pigs).
The declaration will enable the DVS to control the outbreak with help from the district Disaster Management Committee.
ASF has not been detected in pig farms in Tawau, Sandakan, Tenom, Papar, Tuaran and Penampang.-BERNAMA