THAILAND ON RED ALERT TO STOP PIG EBOLA CROSSING BORDER

The authorities have detected contaminated pork products at airports and borders, but have not yet found any cases at farms.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES,18 MAY 2019-Thailand, one of Asia’s top pork producers, is intensifying efforts to hold off a lethal pig virus that’s causing havoc as it spreads across the region.

African swine fever -- a disease that kills nearly all the pigs it infects -- has been spreading through Asia from China and Mongolia to Vietnam and Cambodia. Millions of pigs have been culled, creating a global protein shortage and saddling farmers and food businesses with billions of dollars in costs.

Thailand has tightened inspections at airports and border checkpoints, cracked down on illegal slaughterhouses and traders, and imposed stricter requirements for reporting hog deaths. The authorities have detected contaminated pork products at airports and borders, but have not yet found any cases at farms.

China, the largest pork producer and consumer, has been trying to contain the outbreak since August. But with no vaccine, the virus keeps spreading.