August 15, 2025

 

African swine fever hits another farm in Penang, Malaysia

An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has infected a pig farm in Kampung Selamat, Tasek Gelugor, Penang, increasing the total number of infected farms to five.

 

Penang Veterinary Services Department (JPVPP) director Dr Saira Banu Mohamed Rejab told Bernama on August 13 that the latest case was detected after confirmation of laboratory test results.

 

"This brings the total number of positive cases in Kampung Selamat to five farms, but the situation is still under control and not as severe as the ASF cases recorded in Seberang Prai Selatan (SPS) in 2023," Dr Saira Banu was quoted as saying.

 

"As of August 1, a total of 2,060 pigs from four farms there have been culled. This involves 351 pigs that died from the ASF infection, while 1,709 were culled to curb the spread of the disease."

 

She added that JPVPP cannot yet declare Kampung Selamat an ASF-free zone, as monitoring is ongoing to contain the outbreak.

 

Bernama reported that on July 12, three pig farms in Kampung Selamat were confirmed positive for ASF based on laboratory test results from the Northern Zone Veterinary Laboratory. Two of these farms showed a high mortality rate among the livestock before another farm was confirmed to have been infected with ASF on July 27.

 

Kampung Selamat has 63 pig farms with an estimated population of 120,000 pigs.

 

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu previously said in a written parliamentary reply that ASF outbreaks reduced Malaysia's self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) for pork from 84.6% in 2022 to 69.6 % in 2023.

 

Earlier this year, an ASF outbreak in Selangor saw the culling of a whopping 76,000 pigs in 57 farms around Kuala Langat and Sepang in March.

 

ASF is an endemic disease in Malaysia.

 

-      Bernama News