MANILA – The Philippines’ Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever in a city in central Cebu province, adding that it has deployed response teams to detect the extent of the infection.

The ministry’s Bureau of Animal Industry said 58 out of 149 blood samples from Carcar city in Cebu tested positive for the disease, which is not harmful to humans but is highly contagious among pigs.

The latest outbreak adds to the list of active African swine fever cases in 12 of the Philippines’ more than 80 provinces, based on the government’s latest data.

“All swine raisers and stakeholders are encouraged to report any unusual pig mortalities and sickness to their respective agriculture/veterinary offices,” the ministry said in a statement.

African swine fever was first detected in the Philippines in 2019, prompting the culling of thousands of pigs since then and significantly reducing the domestic hog population.

Reduced domestic pork supply prompted the Philippines to ramp up meat importation as local prices shot up, adding pressure on inflation. REUTERS