African swine fever, a disease that has killed tens of millions of pigs, has resurfaced in several Asian countries this year, with governments scrambling to prevent the spread.
China, Vietnam and Malaysia have documented cases of the disease that plagued herd populations in the region in the past, Bloomberg News reported. Monday.
So far, the new cases have been isolated, but the rise of the virus, which is not known to harm people, raises concerns about another possible meat shortage.
According to Bloomberg, China, where half of the pigs in the world live, has been found in Hebei, Henan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang. Beijing has promised to stop illegal vaccines for the virus, which are linked to the recent outbreaks.
The redevelopment threatens the goals of the country, which has been hit hardest by the swine fever since the first outbreak in 2018, to achieve the recovery of pig herds by the middle of this year. Economic experts are watching China’s pigs to determine the country’s need for imported grains and meat.
In Vietnam, about 2,000 pigs were culled by the end of February, as more than 20 regions documented new cases, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Agriculture. The country lost nearly 6 million pigs in 2019 when the disease hit herds. Vietnam expects the official vaccine against the virus to be ready this summer.
Malaysia last month confirmed its first ever case of African swine fever, prompting the government to announce the culling of 3,000 pigs in the state of Sabah. The state government reportedly said on Sunday that the virus had been found in other districts, but that the commercial pig farms had not experienced outbreaks.