July 20, 2004

Hog Cholera Breaks Out In Indonesia

Pigs are suffering an outbreak of hog cholera in Indonesia's Papua province, and officials have shipped vaccines to the remote region to counter its spread, the government said Tuesday.

The outbreak was first detected two weeks ago and is centered in the province's southern coastal Mimika area, said Sudarmono, from the government's Animal Husbandry Department.

"It is the first case in Papua. We've sent 5,000 ampules of vaccine to contain the outbreak," he added.

Sudarmono said it was difficult to assess the number of pigs infected because most Papuan farmers live in remote, mountainous jungles. It was unclear if any had died yet.

Farm-raised pigs or wild boars can carry hog cholera, which is transmitted through waste or saliva. It can kill an animal in a matter of weeks, but has no known effects on human beings.