Hanoi (VNA) – Thai authorities have designated 24 provinces as "surveillanceareas" for African swine fever and ordered strict animal control with theaim of preventing an outbreak of the disease that has struck neighbouringcountries.

Thailand has been onhigh alert since the outbreak of African swine fever among pigs in Myanmar,Laos, Cambodia, but it has yet to report any outbreak.

Earlier this month,the Thai Government ordered the culling of 200 pigs as a preventative actionafter two pigs died mysteriously in the northern province of Chiang Rai, just20 km from the Myanmar border.

The Government hasput 24 out of its 77 provinces on watch with restrictions on movement of pigsand wild boars, as well as its carcasses, semen or embryos for breeding, Director-Generalof the Department of Livestock Development Sorawit Thaneto said on September 27.

Violation of therestrictions is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of upto 40,000 baht (1,300 USD), he said, adding that this is a precautionarymeasure for provinces that have large pigs population or are in border areas.

The results of theblood test from pigs culled in Chiang Rai also show that the pigs were notinfected, but Thailand continues to be on alert, he stressed.

African swine feveris nearly 100 percent fatal to pigs and highly contagious with no vaccine,though not harmful to humans. It was first detected in Asia last August inChina, wiping out nearly 40 percent of pigs in the world's largest porkproducer.

The disease hassince spread across Asia, affecting Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,and the Philippines./.