At least 11 pig farms in Penang, a state in Malaysia, have confirmed cases of African swine fever (ASF). Pig farmers in the area are being urged to cooperate fully with their state Veterinary Services Department (DVS) to stop the spread of this deadly pig virus.
In TheStar, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow urged farms not to keep the matter to themselves, but to open up to get professional help.
Of the four new farms confirmed with ASF over the weekend, two were from central Seberang Prai and the other two were from south Seberang Prai. Reports continue of farmers trying to manage the situation alone and not reporting ASF outbreaks.
Last Friday, Penang declared the ASF outbreak in the state as a “disaster” after cases were reported in seven commercial pig farms in the SPS and SPT districts, involving 25,000 pigs.
According to New Straits Times, all 25,000 pigs from the seven affected farms will be culled in stages to prevent the spread of ASF. The culling exercise may take weeks to complete, the article said.
To date, more than 4,000 pigs have been culled. In three cases, the pig carcasses were buried on site.
Four road blocks have been mounted to control the movement of live pigs and pig carcasses from infected areas to control the spread of ASF.
ASF, a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, is not a danger to human health or food safety. Still, it’s had a devastating impact on the global pig economy as there is currently no effective commercially-available vaccine against ASF.
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