(Fox News) – Millions of pigs have reportedly been culled throughout Asia as a swine fever outbreak — described as the “biggest animal disease outbreak we’ve ever had on the planet” — spreads throughout the continent. African swine fever (ASF) is a “highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs of all ages,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The disease “cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans,” and isn’t a food safety problem, per officials. There is no known cure
or vaccines for the disease, which is found throughout the world — particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. But in recent months, Asian countries like China, Mongolia and Vietnam, and areas in the European Union have been affected. In China and other Asian countries, swine fever has decimated pig herds. An expert on the disease recently told The Guardian it will continue to spread. “This is the biggest animal disease outbreak we’ve ever had on the planet,” Dirk Pfeiffer, a veterinary epidemiologist at City University of Hong Kong and swine fever expert, said. READ MORE
