VIETNAM

An African swine fever outbreak is spreading widely in Vietnam, forcing the culling of three times the number of hogs culled last year. “The outbreak is evolving in a complicated manner,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is threatening to spread on a large scale.” The outbreak has this year spread to 2,275 areas, in 57 out of the country’s 63 cities and provinces, the statement said, adding that authorities have so far this year culled 230,000 hogs. African swine fever is harmless to humans but often fatal to pigs. An outbreak in February 2019 led to the culling of around 20% of the country’s hog herd and resulted in domestic pork prices doubling.

The drugmakers Pfizer and MSD have agreed to give licences to firms in Vietnam to produce their Paxlovid and Molnupiravir Covid-19 treatment pills, the ministry of health said on Friday. Pfizer last week said it would allow generic manufacturers to make the experimental antiviral pill in 95 low- and middle-income countries through a voluntary licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool, an international public health group.