No African Swine Fever in Malaysia Yet

Thailand is a buffer zone for Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — African swine fever has yet to hit Malaysia, but the government has advised pig farmers to adopt strict measures to prevent the disease, a deputy minister said.

The Star reported Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Deputy Minister Sim Tze Tzin as saying that Thailand served as a buffer zone for Malaysia.

“At this point, we don’t import a lot of pork products. We only import canned meat,” Sim was quoted saying.

He said Malaysia has banned the import of piglets from Vietnam after an outbreak of African swine fever there and warned smugglers against bringing in pork products from affected countries.

“Once the country is affected we have to spend a lot of money to cull the pigs, veterinarians will be deployed to solve the problem and (there will be) compensation to a lot of people.

“Now is the time to safeguard and protect our borders,” Sim said.

African swine fever, which is highly virulent but does not harm humans, has ravaged China’s pork industry, where millions of pigs have been slaughtered, and spread to Vietnam and Cambodia.

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