A swine fever epidemic is continuing to spread in Japan, with local authorities in five central and western Japan prefectures saying Wednesday they are struggling to contain the highly contagious pig virus that was first reported in September.
"We are facing an extremely serious situation," agriculture minister Takamori Yoshikawa told a meeting at his ministry in Tokyo while instructing officials to take thorough countermeasures. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also set up a special task force in Gifu Prefecture to step up containment efforts.
Spilling over from farms in Gifu, the classical swine fever (CSF) virus was newly detected by prefectural and local authorities at farms in neighboring Aichi as well as in Osaka, Shiga and Nagano prefectures.