Republic of the Philippines
Department of Agriculture
BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY
Diliman, Quezon City
African Swine Fever
Frequently Asked Questions
What is African Swine Fever (ASF)?
✔ A devastating highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild
pigs of all ages.
✔ The disease is characterized by high fever, loss of appetite, hemorrhages in the
skin and internal organs, and death which follows between 2-10 days on the
average.
✔ Mortality can be as high as 100%.
✔ There is currently no vaccine against ASF, and no treatment available
Where is the disease found?
✔ ASF is generally prevalent and endemic in countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The
disease remains endemic in Italy (Sardinia).
How is AFS transmitted and spread?
✔ Can be transmitted by direct contact:
o Direct contact
o Ingestion of garbage/swill feeds containing unprocessed infected pig
meat or pig meat products
o Ticks and biting flies
o Contaminated premises, vehicles, equipment and clothing
What is the public health risk of the disease?
✔ ASF is NOT a human health threat.
What is the swine population at risk in the Philippines?
✔ The Philippine swine industry is one of the biggest contributors to the country’s
agricultural growth, posting over 16% increases in gross earnings, owing to the
increasing demand for pork and production expansion.
✔ The country’s total swine inventory is estimated at 12.78 million as of 1 July
2018. The Philippines ranks eighth (8th) in the world in terms of pork volume
production and number of breeding sows.
✔ Historically, the country is free from African Swine Fever (ASF). Thus, incursion
of the disease in the Philippines will result to great economic loss due to direct
and indirect damages to the industry.
What is the government’s plan to prevent the entry of ASF in the Philippines?
✔ There is at present NO vaccine or treatment for African Swine Fever. Prevention
in countries free of the disease, such as the Philippines, depends on stringent
import policies, early detection, and strict biosecurity.
1
✔ The government through the Bureau of Animal Industry has developed a
contingency plan to prevent entry of ASF, with acronym spelled as B.A.B.E.S.:
Banning of importation
✔ Ban importation of domestic and wild pigs, their meat, meat products and by-
products from ASF affected countries, as of March 18, 2019
DA-BAI Memorandum Order No.06 Series of 2018 “Prohibition of Entry of
Domestic and Wild Pigs, Its Products And By-Products Including Fresh Meat But
Not Limited to Meat, Animal Effects, Animal Proteins Such As Meat and Bone
Meal, Blood Meal, Etc. Originating From China, Latvia, Romania, Russia,
Hungary, Poland and Ukraine”
DA Memorandum Order No.18 Series of 2018 “Temporary Ban on the
Implementation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork
Meat and Semen Originating from Hungary”
DA Memorandum Order No. 23 Series of 2018 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and
China”
DA Memorandum Order No. 26 Series of 2018 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from China”
DA Memorandum Order No. 30 Series of 2018 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South
Africa and Zambia”
DA Memorandum Order No. 31 Series of 2018 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from Belgium”
DA Memorandum Order No. 2 Series of 2019 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from Mongolia”
DA Memorandum Order No. 5 Series of 2019 “Temporary Ban on the
Importation of Domestic and Wild Pigs and their Products Including Pork Meat
and Semen Originating from Vietnam”
Avoiding swill feeding on pigs
✔ Advise swine raisers on the proper use of domestic food wastes swill feed for
pigs
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✔ Manage and oversee the proper collection and disposal of catering food
wastes and left-overs from international and domestic airports and seaports
which may be used as swill feed
DA Memorandum Order No. 22 Series of 2018 “Prohibition on the Use of
Catering Food Wastes/Left-overs from International and Domestic Airports
and Seaports as Swine Swill Feed Throughout the Country”
Blocking entry of virus and enforcement of Biosecurity
✔ Confiscation and condemnation of undocumented/smuggled shipments,
especially those coming from ASF affected countries
✔ Strict screening and inspection of shipments and luggage from ASF
affected countries to ensure that they do not contain any items considered
potential carrier of the virus
✔ Strict Inspection of hand carried items and confiscation of items
considered possible carrier of the virus. Existing DA Admin Order No. 18
states the confiscation of products/commodities arriving without the
required SPS Import Clearance and International SPS Certificate
DA Administrative Order No. 18 series of 2000 “Revised Guidelines on
the Importation of Agricultural Products”
Educating the people
✔ Issuance of ASF Technical Advisory published in the web and social media
✔ Consultative meetings with stakeholders
✔ Information dissemination in collaboration with swine industry
stakeholders
✔ Development of Contingency Plan for ASF
o Training of Quick Response Teams
Submitting samples for testing/Conduct of Surveillance
✔ Trained personnel on laboratory diagnosis of ASF that undergoes regular
proficiency training
✔ Testing of unusual sickness and mortalities
Will banning the seven (7) mentioned countries affect our prices especially with
increased demand during Christmas season?
✔ It is projected that there should be no effect to our pork prices because the
banned countries were never allowed to import pigs and pork to the Philippines
before.
✔ We do not import meat from China. Majority of our hams are coming from Italy,
Spain and France.
