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