PETALING JAYA: Despite an outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF) being detected in pig farms in Melaka recently, the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia has reassured the public that there is sufficient supply of pork in the market.

       It also assured the public that the pork being sold was safe to be consumed as only healthy pigs examined by the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) were allowed to be slaughtered.

       As the outbreak had only been detected in Paya Mengkuang, Melaka, federation president Tan Chee Hee said it would not affect the supply of pork in the market as current demand for the meat was not as high as in the past.

       “However, if ASF is spreading in the country, then it will create a shortage and higher pork prices.

       “The pork supplies are currently sufficient at this moment. We shall see what will happen in the following week in terms of the ASF situation in Malaysia.

       “We hope that it will be controlled and not spread,” he said when contacted yesterday.

       ASF was detected in samples taken from seven commercial pig farms in Paya Mengkuang at Masjid Tanah, Melaka, on Dec 24 last year.

       DVS then took proactive measures to contain the ASF outbreak by issuing a quarantine order notice to the relevant farms to restrict pig movement, among others.

       Pigs from these farms were also culled under Section 19 of the Animals Act 1953 (Amendment 2013) while pigs from farms that were certified infection-free were allowed to be slaughtered in approved slaughterhouses only.

       DVS had also directed that the carcasses and pork not be allowed to be transported to other states.

       ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease in pigs but is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.

       It was also found in wild boars in Bidor and Sungkai in Perak, and Jerantut in Pahang, in the beginning of December last year.

       Tan said the spread of ASF to other pig farms in the nation was unlikely to happen as DVS had banned the infected areas from making any movements to other regions or states.

       “If all the pig farms in other states are taking high biosecurity measures such as restricting visitors and disinfecting vehicles in and out from the farm and others, a spread is unlikely to happen,” he said.