APA-Cape Town (South Africa) An outbreak of African swine fever has killed 45 pigs in South Africa’s Western Cape province, Western Cape Agriculture Department’s spokesperson Daniel Johnson confirmed on Monday.
The disease has attacked pigs on the outskirts of Groeneweide Park in the city of George in the Western Cape’s Garden Route, the spokesperson said.
Due to this, the department has placed the area under quarantine, Johnson said.
The quarantine measures required community members not to remove any pigs or pig products from the area to prevent the further spread of the disease, he said.
The virus was specific to pigs and did not affect humans or other species of animals, he said, adding that pork products were safe for human consumption.
This is the fourth African swine fever outbreak in the Garden Route area since 2022, Johnson noted.
He called on all pig owners to implement strict measures to protect their livestock from this new outbreak of the disease.
NM/jn/APA