Article: Pig farmers ignorant about disease

Friday September 11, 2009

IPOH: The level of awareness among Perak pig farmers on the severity of the Influenza A(H1N1) disease is still low.

State Health Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said steps had to be taken to increase the farmers' awareness on the disease.

"There has been no cases of pigs being infected by the virus in Malaysia, but we cannot afford to let our guard down," he told reporters after opening an awareness seminar on the disease for pig farmers in the state.

The seminar, said Dr Mah, was among the steps taken by the authorities to increase awareness on the disease.

"The Veterinary Department also takes swabs from pigs regularly to check on the existence of the virus," he added.

Dr Mah also said that an enactment on pig farming had been approved by the state exco recently.

The enactment was to ensure the industry's continued growth and that the meat produced by the farmers were clean.

"We want to ensure pig farms do not pollute the environment and farmers practise clean farming," he added.

Earlier, reading out the speech by Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Dr Mah said the pig farming industry in Perak was worth RM453mil.

"It is the third biggest after the duck and poultry-rearing industries," he said.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation, 11 September 2009