Japan allows vaccination of pigs as swine fever spreads east

[TOKYO] Japan will allow the vaccination of pigs to prevent swine fever spreading, the agriculture ministry said in a statement issued Friday.

The ministry also asks makers of livestock drugs to boost production of swine-fever vaccine as the disease has spread to the eastern area, one of Japan's main pork-producing regions.

The ministry has failed to contain the disease, which broke out in September 2018 for the first time in 26 years. The virus, which was first found in a farm in central Japan, has been spread to other areas by wildlife, according to the ministry.

The ministry had to weigh the decision to allow vaccination of pigs amid concerns such a measure may have a negative impact on pork exports, agriculture minister Taku Eto said Friday.

BLOOMBERG