Ogun ASF Outbreak Calls for Urgent Veterinary Action

A livestock development adviser, Eustace Iyayi, has called for an emergency response to the African swine fever outbreak reported in Ogun State.

Iyayi, who is a special assistant to the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, made the call during an interview in Abuja.

He said the outbreak requires coordinated action to identify cases, contain the disease, protect unaffected farms and support affected farmers.

According to him, reports of the outbreak around the Ikangba and Agoro axis should be followed by farm-by-farm investigations to establish how the disease is spreading.

Iyayi also called for immediate surveillance of affected and neighbouring farms, laboratory testing of suspected cases and restrictions on the movement of live pigs, carcasses, equipment and vehicles linked to affected farms.

He further recommended tighter veterinary supervision of communal slaughter facilities, following findings from a previous outbreak investigation which identified such a facility as a possible route of transmission.

Iyayi said Ogun and the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development should coordinate the response through veterinary authorities.

African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. Mortality can reach 100 per cent.

A study of previous outbreaks in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos recorded a 60.6 per cent mortality rate and estimated losses from pig deaths at N166.26 million.

The latest outbreak is the third reported in Ogun within a decade.