VETERINARY officials have ordered about 20 farmers to slaughter their pigs and disinfect their sties in a bid to contain an outbreak of swine fever in southern Malawi. Seventy pigs have died of the disease in Balaka district, 120km north of the commercial capital Blantyre, said Osmud Munthali, a veterinary official in the district. The farmers directly affected by the disease had been told to slaughter their remaining animals and disinfect their pig sties before restocking ”in order to save the remaining 11 500 pigs in the area.” Swine fever is common as summer begins. The disease gives pigs a fever, loss of appetite and diarrhoea. – AFP