African swine fever detected in Singapore's forests

The National Parks Board NParks confirmed on Thursday that the African swine fever has been detected in a wild boar carcass found in northwestern Singapore, said the National Parks Board NParks.

NParks said that the African swine fever is not zoonotic, meaning it does not infect humans and is not a risk to public health.

It said that the disease only affects wild boars and pigs.

CNA reached out to NParks to find out if there have been other cases of the virus being detected in the wild boar population in Singapore.

NParks said it has a biosurveillance system in place to detect animal diseases, including African swine fever.

Wild boars are native to Singapore and can be found in nature reserves, parks and other green spaces. NParks is closely monitoring the health of wild boars in these areas. It reminded the public to stay on designated trails when visiting these areas, to observe wild boars from a distance, and not to feed or get close to them.

The public should not touch or pick up any sick or dead animals, and instead report the sighting to the Animal Response Centre at 1800 -- 476 -- 1600.

African swine fever caused widespread death among pigs in several countries, including China, which affected supply and raised prices of pork.