Jakarta, Jan 30 (IANS): The number of pig deaths suspected to be caused by the African Swine Fever virus in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara has reached 256.
"There were only 253 deaths at first, but now there are three more cases in North Central Timor Regency," Nusa Tenggara Animal Husbandry Service official Melky Angsar told local media on Sunday.
Since December 21 last year, the virus has spread to Kupang Regency, Kupang City, Ende Regency, East Flores Regency, Sikka Regency, Southwest Sumba Regency, West Sumba Regency, and North Central Timor Regency.
To combat the infectious virus, the authorities have distributed 39,200 litre of disinfectant to farmers and banned the movement of pigs in and out of the province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The same swine flu also attacked East Nusa Tenggara in 2000 and killed thousands of pigs.