Malaysia to cull 3,000 pigs after finding first swine fever case

Malaysia will cull about 3,000 pigs in the Borneo state of Sabah as it races to curb the first African swine fever outbreak in the country. Necessary action will be taken to stop the spread of the virus, which was discovered among pigs in northern Sabah last month, according to Deputy Chief Minister Jeffrey Kitingan. “This includes the culling of pigs in the affected areas, controlling the movement of pigs and the selling of pork products originating from the affected areas,” he said in a statement last week. The hog-killing virus was found in about 300 domestic pigs and wild boars in Pitas, Beluran and Kota Marudu districts from Feb. 8-11, according to an alert submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health. Investigation started after the death of a wild boar and was extended after laboratory samples confirmed the virus in backyard pigs in Pitas and wild boars in Beluran. There are about 2,000 pigs in Pitas and about 1,000 wild bearded pigs within a radius of 50 ...