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