Source: Business Insurance

September 05, 2019 African swine fever has hit all the localities in Vietnam, Xinhua reported citing Vietnam News Agency. Since the first ASF outbreak in February in northern Hung Yen province, the virus has hit nearly 7,000 communes, 600 districts, 62 cities and provinces across Vietnam, leading to the culling of more than four million pigs. Early this year, Vietnam had some 27 million pigs, having the biggest pig population among Southeast Asian nations, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. On average, the number of pigs in Vietnam annually grew more than 0.9 percent in the 2015-2018 period.ASF is a severe viral disease affecting domestic pigs and boars which can be spread by live or dead pigs and pork products. The ASF virus is harmless to humans, but causes hemorrhagic fever in pigs and wild boars that is almost fatal, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.