Dec 26 (Japan Times) - Japan’s swine fever epidemic is spreading further with a sixth case identified Tuesday in the central part of the country, leading to the first dispatch of Ground Self-Defense Force troops and the launch of a crisis control unit by the central government.
After tests confirmed the latest case of the contagious disease at a pig farm in Seki, Gifu Prefecture, the local government began culling 7,547 pigs. About 1,600 GSDF troops dispatched at the request of Gifu Gov. Hajime Furuta will bury the culled animals.
Swine fever, which has a high fatality rate, was detected at a farm in the city of Gifu in September for the first time since 1992, and has been found in wild boars in both Gifu and Aichi prefectures. It does not affect humans even if an infected animal is consumed.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the central and local governments “have been making all-out efforts to prevent the infections from spreading.â€
Three farms with a total of 1,800 pigs located within 10 kilometers of the affected farm in Seki were banned from shipping their pigs. Meat processing facilities in the city also halted operations.
At the farm hit by the latest outbreak, Gifu government officials in white protective gear were seen digging holes to bury carcasses, and disinfecting themselves around pigpens.
