USDA announced additional measures to control and eradicate African swine fever last week.

ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral pigs that has not been detected in the U.S.  ASF does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.

Here's an update on some of the latest ASF news.

Five more wild boars infected with the virus were identified Sunday in areas near the inter-Korean border. The country has 325 wild boar infections. South Korea confirmed its first case of the disease in September 2019.  – The Korea Herald

China's Harbin Veterinary Research Institute has developed an African swine fever vaccine that laboratory testing has showed is safe and effective. The live vaccine was created from a series of gene-deleted viruses using the country's first African swine fever trait. The disease first broke out in China in 2018. – Bloomberg

For the past 19 months, secrecy has hobbled China's response to African swine fever, which has killed millions of hogs. The vacuum of credible information has made it impossible for farmers, industry and government to tell how and why the disease spread so quickly. – Reuters

The Philippines reported its first swine fever outbreaks in September 2019. It has now spread in the south of the country. – The Bangkok Post

Related:New ASF vaccine shows promise

The Philippines has sufficient supplies of pork despite the impact of African swine fever on the country's pork production. As of March 2, 237,000 infected pigs have been culled. - ABS-CBN News