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.