An outbreak of African swine fever in China may spread to other parts of Asia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday, as the world’s largest pork producer scrambled to contain the disease.
China has culled more than 24,000 pigs in four provinces to stop the disease from proliferating, the FAO said in a statement. The first outbreak was reported in early August.
The FAO said the cases have been detected in areas more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) apart, meaning it could cross national borders.
“The deadly pig virus may spread to other Asian countries anytime,” the FAO said.
