Singapore wary of pig virus

Singapore wary of pig virus

SINGAPORE (DPA): The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) plans to kill several hundred wild boars on its southern island, Pulau Tekong, as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the current pig virus outbreak, the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) said in an official statement.

The SAF has taken a cautious stand, although it said wild boars are unlikely to carry the Japanese encephalitis, or Hendra- like virus. All military training areas were said to be more than four kilometers away from any abattoir.

SAF camps within a two-kilometer radius of the abattoirs have also been sprayed to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, which are the main carriers of the viruses causing the outbreak.

MINDEF said military training would proceed as normal as there was negligible risk of servicemen contracting either Japanese encephalitis or the Hendra-like virus during training.