'Unstoppable': African swine fever deaths to eclipse record 2019 toll

With world's attention on Covid-19, warnings that lack of measures to contain pandemic could lead to culling of record number of pigs

The African swine fever (ASF) pandemic will be even worse this year than in 2019, say experts, warning that the spread of the highly contagious virus, which is fatal to pigs, is unrelenting.

With world attention on the human viral pandemic of Covid-19, concern is growing that countries are not focusing enough on halting the spread of ASF through better biosecurity practices, cooperation on intensive vaccine development, or transparency regarding outbreaks.