December 24, 2019

Indonesia spends US$357,000 to bury swine dead from African swine fever

The government has allocated 5 billion IDR (~US$357,938; 1000 IDR = US$0.072) to North Sumatra to bury dead swine infected by African swine fever (ASF) and halt the spread of the disease, reported The Jakarta Post.

About 29,200 swine have died from ASF in the province. Authorities initially identified the disease as hog cholera.

The Indonesian Agriculture Ministry confirmed ASF in North Sumatra and has reported the disease to the World Organization for Animal Health.

North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said the funding, disbursed from the state budget, will be used to employ personnel to bury dead swine, set up a patrol team and establish emergency posts. The latter aims to monitor swine transportation in and out of North Sumatra and create a point for the public to report findings of dead swine.

A budget for swine culling has been prepared as the ministry is taking into account the large, two-million swine population in North Sumatra.

He added that swine farmers have been notified to separate suspected ASF-infected swine from the rest of their herd.

Ketut Diarminta, the ministry's farms and animal health director general called upon the public to report cases of deceased swine and not to handle carcasses on their own.

Pork consumption in the area has also declined as the public is fearful of consuming pork, even though the government has explained that ASF poses no risk to humans.

-      The Jakarta Post