BANGKOK, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Thailand on Monday denied accusations it has covered up an outbreak of African swine fever, after a university lab test conducted last month indicated a pet pig had died from the disease.
Thai authorities have for years denied a local outbreak of the disease that has swept through Europe and Asia in recent years and killed hundreds of millions of pigs.
Authorities have previously attributed most farm pig deaths to another viral disease, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).
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Speculation has grown in recent weeks that an African swine fever outbreak was already decimating Thai pig herds, fuelled by a sharp increase in pork prices due to a lower domestic pig supply.
“We have followed every procedure. We couldn’t have covered it up,” Sorravis Thaneto, director-general of Thailand’s…
