Malaysian Pigs Killed to Curb Fatal Disease

More than 1,000 soldiers wearing hoods, gloves and surgical masks began killing Malaysia’s pig population Sunday to contain an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis that has killed at least 53 people since October.

Nearly all the victims lived on or worked near pig farms in the villages 60 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, where the soldiers, accompanied by 300 health workers, were slaughtering the pigs.

In response to the outbreak of the deadly disease, Thailand and Singapore banned all imported Malaysian pork. The sale of pork has fallen to near zero in Southeast Asia, even though health officials say encephalitis cannot be acquired from eating the meat.

Japanese encephalitis is passed from pigs to humans by mosquitoes but cannot be transmitted between humans. The disease attacks the brain, causing high fever, coma and often death. It can be prevented by a vaccination that many travelers to rural Asia routinely receive.

Malaysia’s population is composed predominantly of Muslims, who do not eat pork because they consider pigs unsanitary. All the soldiers involved in the slaughtering operation are non-Muslims.

Health officials estimate that the soldiers will kill more than 300,000 pigs, wiping out the livelihood of hundreds of pig farmers in Negeri Sembilan state. The government announced Saturday that it will set up a special lottery to raise funds for those who lose their income.

The outbreak of Japanese encephalitis has caused fear and confusion in pig-breeding villages, where rumors are rampant that the disease can be contracted from airborne particles.

“Keep safe, go away!” local papers quoted a pig farmer wearing a surgical mask as telling someone who approached. “Even if you smell the pigs, you can die.”

Residents have fled entire villages, leaving doors unlocked and laundry hanging outside. “We’re in an emergency situation,” Lim Kit Siang, a member of parliament said.

The government has ordered vaccinations for 300,000 people in the affected area--Southeast Asia’s largest pig-breeding region--and made plans for a massive spraying of insecticide to kill the Culex mosquitoes that breed in swamps and open drains.