Confirmed! Dozens of Wild Boar Died in West Sumatra Due to Swine Flu

TheIndonesia.co - Dozens of wild boars died suddenly in the Maua Hilia area, Jorong Kayu Pasak Timur, Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan District, Agam Regency, West Sumatra (West Sumatra), positive for the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus or the African swine flu virus. This is known from the examination of the boar's organ samples.

"This is based on a field investigation by the Bukittinggi Veterinary Center, but we do not know the laboratory results concerning the research method and type of the virus," said Head of the Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health Division of the Agam Agriculture Service, Farid Muslim, Thursday, December 23, 2021.

The boars' samples that died suddenly were taken by a joint team from the Bukittinggi Veterinary Center, the West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA), Animal Husbandry Department, and West Sumatra Animal Health on Wednesday. The joint team took samples from skull bones, bones of other body parts, the soil where boars died suddenly, and water sources.

"The team found two boar organs and one of the bone samples taken was positive for ASF," he said.

With this condition, he appealed to residents to report to the nearest animal health center if they found a suspicious dead boar. This is in order to prevent transmission of the virus to other wild animals.

"There are no pig farmers in Agam and we are wary of spreading it to other animals because the virus cannot be transmitted to humans," he said.

Previously, residents of Maua Hilia Jorong Kayu Pasa Timur, Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan District, were shocked by the discovery of dozens of boar carcasses on their plantation land. The finding has occurred since three months ago. Public and authorities suspected those deaths were caused by ASF.

Head of KSDA Agam Ade Putra added that the agency continues to work with related institutions to get confirmation on the cause of death. In 2020, dozens of pigs also died suddenly in Pasaman Barat regency, West Sumatra. And in 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed Indonesia was at alert level 1 in the handling of swine fever.