By Madelaine B. Miraflor

With a few weeks left before Christmas, the Philippines has tightened its security measures against the deadly African swine fever (ASF), which already killed thousands of pigs across different parts of the world in the past months.

In its latest advisory, the Department of Agriculture (DA) imposed a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild pigs and their products including pork meat and semen originating from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, and Zambia.

This was just a few weeks since the country also banned the same products coming from China, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.

Based on reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), there has been “unresolved events” or outbreaks of ASF in the aforementioned countries.

To recall, the outbreak of ASF in China and in other areas prompted an emergency meeting at the United Nations (UN) a few weeks ago, which required attendance from countries like the Philippines that could be at risk for “trans-boundary” spread of the deadly disease.

In Asia, ASF was first detected in 2017 at a pig farm in the Siberian region of the Russian Federation.

The virus was then discovered in China at the beginning of August this year. In its most virulent form, it is 100 percent fatal to the animals who contract the virus.

To contain its spread, Chinese authorities have already culled thousands of pigs.

“China produces more than half of the world’s pigs and while it poses no direct threat to human health, ASF can devastate the swine population,” UN said in a previous statement.