Clarion Call For Vigilance

Authorities in the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry (MINEPIA) have not been able to say with certainty the kind of disease that has attacked pigs in some regions of Cameroon. This may not be because they are ignorant of the infections that are common with pigs but simply because they want to clearly identify the ailment to maybe provide a better cure for it. Pending the results of their investigation, what remains clear is that pigs are dying in their numbers and as fate would have it breeders are doing everything possible to discard of them. The markets are being flooded with pork at giveaway prices. On Sunday July 04, 2021, local authorities of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry in Melong intercepted a truck transporting dead pigs to the commercial city of Douala. Even though the results from the laboratory are still to say whether the pigs were infected by any disease, MINEPIA officials have been confirming fears of a possible outbreak of African swine fever. 
Many pig breeders in the Northwest, Southwest, Littoral, West, and Centre Regions have testified having lost their animals under unclear circumstances. Consumers of the delicious animal are being warned to be careful and to inform their loved ones to stay clear of consuming pork. The African swine fever (ASF), it should be noted, is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, which is responsible for serious economic and production losses. This transboundary animal disease can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and pork products; furthermore, transmission can also occur via contaminated feed and fomites (non-living objects) such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, knives, equipment etc., due to the high environmental resista...