MANILA – Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol has ordered a temporary prohibition of pork and pork products from Vietnam due to reports of an outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF).
“Effective immediately, pork and pork products from Vietnam will be temporarily banned from entering the Philippines because of reports of outbreak of the dreaded African Swine Fever (ASF),” Piñol said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“Vietnam is the latest to be included in the list of countries which could not ship pork and pork products to the Philippines because of the ASF,” he added.
Piñol said Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Dr. Ronnie Domingo made the recommendation on the temporary ban of pork products from Vietnam following reports pork intercepted from the Southeast Asian neighbor tested ASF positive.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture issued a temporary ban on importing pork and pork products from Japan.
Pork from the following countries has also been banned: China, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, and Zambia.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, ASF is “a severe viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs.” While humans cannot get ASF, it can have serious economic effects if it spreads among livestock.
The Philippines is currently free of ASF. (GMA News)
