March 10, 2020

Thousands more swine reported dead in Bali, Indonesia

Animal health authorities in the region are still unable to determine the cause of the deaths, which has been occurring in Bali for the past several months, reported Coconuts Bali.

Citing a report from Berita Bali, a government official said 2,804 swine have been found dead in the province with 4,107 swine currently infected with the unknown disease.

I Ketut Gede Nata Kesuma, Bali Agriculture and Food Agency livestock health department head said the deaths are focused in the areas of Badung (903 dead) and Tabanan (813 dead).

Another report from Bali Post quoted a Tabanan regency official from the Agriculture Agency that said 3,602 swine were dead in Tabanan since January 10, 2020.

Even though there are no accurate swine death figures, official data has shown that the disease is spreading as only 1,000 swine deaths were reported in January 2020.

Authorities said the symptoms are similar to African swine fever (ASF) but the disease has not been confirmed. A Bali official retracted his statement that the swine deaths were caused by ASF a few days after announcing it in early February 2020.

The ASF outbreak has spread across Asia, decimating swine herds. The ASF outbreak in China killed more than 40% of its swine population, forcing the country to approve more import sources to supplement dwindling domestic pork supplies.

-      Coconuts Bali