Canadian pork producers have had their share of troubles in the past year, but their counterparts in Malaysia would undoubtedly love to swap places.
Pig farmers in the southeastern Asian country have had to flee their homes and abandon their farms as a deadly virus transmitted by mosquitoes from pigs to humans has taken dozens of lives.
Authorities now believe there is a second deadly virus similar to the Hendra virus that killed two people and 15 horses during outbreaks in Australia in 1994 and 1995 is also present.
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Troops were sent to the main hog producing region with orders to slaughter hundreds of thousands of pigs, in the process destroying the country’s $600 million pig rearing industry.
While Canadian pork industry officials look to take advantage of sales opportunities created by the crisis, they also have sympathy for the Malaysians and say there is a lesson for Canada.
“This situation is just an indication that you always have to be careful with animal health,” said Jacques Pomerleau of Canada Pork International, noting that disease outbreaks in recent years have devastated the swine industries in Taiwan and The Netherlands. “It can happen to anyone.”
The first disease is Japanese encephalitis, which is spread from pigs to people by one species of mosquito. Officials said pigs in the affected areas showed infection rates of 80 to 100 percent. The disease cannot be spread from human to human, nor is it transmitted by eating pork.
Those infected can experience headaches, dizziness, high fever and convulsions, leading to loss of consciousness and in some cases death.
The Hendra-like virus is believed to be transmitted by direct contact with live, sick pigs.
The health ministry advised pig farmers, truck drivers and slaughterhouse workers to wear water-proof gloves and boots, face masks, eye goggles and plastic aprons when handling pigs to guard against the Hendra-like virus.
Gruesome photographs appeared last week during the government-ordered pig eradication showing dozens of animals herded into pits and being shot or bludgeoned to death. The pits were then immediately filled in to bury the hogs. The government was also planning to use carbon monoxide gas to help speed the slaughter.
“It’s wild, but you can understand it because it’s so deadly,” said Pomerleau. “You can see why they would be just frantic to wipe it out.”
As of March 29, the government was planning to kill about one million pigs, representing about 50 percent of the country’s two million-strong herd.
The Malaysian government was reportedly planning to hold a special lottery to raise money to compensate pig breeders. Some of the funds would also be used to finance a culling operation and vaccination program.
