Philippines checks for African swine

fever as pig deaths rise

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has set up a crisis

management team to determine if the deadly African swine fever
virus has reached the country after officials detected a rise in pig
deaths in some areas.

The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported an increased

mortality of pigs “raised by farmers in their backyards”, but further
laboratory tests were needed to confirm any outbreak of swine
fever, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian nation last year put safeguards in place to

protect its $5 billion hog industry from the highly contagious
disease, for which there is no cure and no vaccine.
 It has far banned pork and pork-based products from more than a
dozen countries, including Vietnam, Laos and China, where the
outbreak has spread throughout the mainland, as well as to Hong
Kong.

African swine fever causes high fever, loss of appetite,

hemorrhages, and death among domestic and wild pigs. It does not
pose a health risk to humans.

The crisis team will implement measures to “manage, contain and

control the suspected animal disease or diseases,” Dar said in a
media briefing.

He had directed the bureau to conduct further confirmatory

laboratory tests, including sending blood samples to foreign
laboratories, to determine the cause of the pigs’ deaths.

Dar declined to specify the areas where the deaths occurred, and
said the tests would be completed in two weeks at the earliest.

The Philippines’ import ban also covers pork and pork-based

products from Germany, North Korea, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia,
Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic,
Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, and Mongolia.

Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; editing by Richard Pullin

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
 Tropical Depression Marilyn
slightly weakens
While Tropical Depression Marilyn is weaker, the southwest monsoon will still trigger rain in
parts of the Philippines on Saturday, September 14

Acor Arceo
Published 12:15 PM, September 14, 2019

Updated 12:15 PM, September 14, 2019

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 Satellite image of Tropical Depression Marilyn as of September 14, 2019, 11 am.
Image from NOAA
MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Depression Marilyn slightly weakened on Saturday morning, September 14.

In a briefing past 11 am on Saturday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical

Services Administration (PAGASA) said Marilyn now has maximum winds of 45 kilometers per hour
(km/h) from the previous 55 km/h and gustiness of up to 55 km/h from the previous 70 km/h.

PAGASA said Marilyn could even weaken into a low pressure area. Redevelopment into a tropical
depression, however, is not being ruled out.

Marilyn is already 1,215 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes. It is moving northeast at the same slow
pace of 10 km/h.

There are no areas under tropical cyclone wind signals and Marilyn is unlikely to make landfall.

But the southwest monsoon or hanging habagat will continue to bring rain, according to PAGASA.
Below is the latest on the expected rainfall.

Saturday, September 14, until Sunday morning, September 15

 Occasional to frequent light to moderate rain, with intermittent heavy rain

o Palawan
o Occidental Mindoro
o Oriental Mindoro
o Western Visayas
o Zamboanga Peninsula
o Sulu Archipelago
 Scattered light to moderate rain, with at times heavy rain
o rest of Mimaropa
o Bicol
o Visayas

Residents of those areas must stay on alert for possible flash floods and landslides. (READ: FAST
FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

Travel remains risky in the western seaboard of Southern Luzon and the seaboards of the
Visayas and Mindanao, especially for small vessels.
Based on Marilyn's latest forecast track, it might briefly leave PAR on Sunday, September
15, then possibly reenter.

Forecast track of Tropical Depression Marilyn as of September 14, 2019, 11 am. Image from PAGASA
Marilyn is the Philippines' 13th tropical cyclone for 2019, and the 3rd in September. (READ: LIST: PAGASA's
names for tropical cyclones in 2019)

PAGASA is also monitoring another tropical depression outside PAR, located 2,935 kilometers east of the Visayas.

But PAGASA Weather Specialist Loriedin de la Cruz said it only has a slim chance of entering PAR. It could move
northwest instead, away from PAR.

The country gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually, but since 2019 is an El Niño year, only 14 to 18 tropical
cyclones are expected.

Below is the estimated number of tropical cyclones from September to December:

 September - 2 to 4
 October - 2 or 3
 November - 1 or 2
 December - 0 or 1

PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season last June 14. – Rappler.com