PETALING JAYA: The Veterinary Services Department (DVS) has assured Malaysians that the country is free from African Swine Fever (ASF) and samples from commercial pig farms and wild boars show no signs of the virus.

"Clinical surveillance has been conducted at all commercial pig farms in eight states.

"All commercial pig farms that have been examined show no signs of the virus," said its director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam in a statement on Friday (June 7).

Dr Quaza said samples taken from 35 wild boars in six states in Peninsular Malaysia indicated that there was no ASF virus.

He added that as a precautionary measure, DVS imposed a ban on imports of pork and pork products from China, Poland, Belgium, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Dr Quaza also said there was no ASF virus found in samples of 180 pork and pork products imported from countries affected by the virus.

"A table-top simulation of the ASF virus was also conducted on Feb 22 involving the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, state DVS, the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services (Maqis), Malaysia Airports, and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to test the level of preparedness of each agency involved as well as to test a contingency plan that was developed in the event of an ASF virus outbreak," he said.

On Thursday (June 6), Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin assured Malaysians that there was no outbreak of the disease in the country.

Sim had also called on pig farmers to step up biosecurity measures at their farms, adding that they were the "last defence".

According to a report in The Guardian, ASF continues to spread around the region despite the culling of millions of pigs in China and Vietnam.

It said Thailand was now on "red alert", and experts also feared outbreaks in Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos.