Sunday, March 21, 1999 Published at 16:24 GMT
Pig slaughter begins in Malaysia
Pigs were abandoned as fear grew
Malaysian soldiers have begun shooting thousands of pigs in an attempt to control the spread of the Japanese encephalitis virus, which has killed up to 50 people.
Officials say more than 300,000 pigs will be destroyed over a 10-day period in villages in the south-western state of Negri Sembilan.
The officials say they will wipe out the entire pig population in the area.
There is no cure for the deadly virus which is transmitted from pigs to humans via mosquitoes. Known as "plague of the Orient", it attacks the brain and causes a high fever.
Fears that the meat is contaminated because of the virus has wreaked havoc on Malaysia's £250m pork business.
Singapore has also suspended the entry of live pigs, as well as horses, after a man working in a slaughterhouse died from Japanese encephalitis.
The government has said it will give them some humanitarian aid to see them through the crisis, but our correspondent says many of them now face financial ruin.
Many farmers in Malaysia's largest pig breeding area abandoned their animals and fled in panic as the number of cases of Japanese encephalitis rose by the day.
News of the discovery of a second deadly virus, similar to a strain of the encephalitis virus discovered in Australia five years ago, has further added to the confusion.
Officials say they do not know for sure how the new virus is transmitted to and from pigs, though they believe it is neither highly contagious nor airborne.
Foreign experts have been invited to Malaysia to investigate the new strain of virus that has been detected.