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More than a quarter of the world's pigs have been wiped out and there is little authorities can do about it.
African swine fever is spreading across the world and has Australia on high alert amid fears the arrival of the disease is inevitable.
But even without it entering Australia, it's already having an effect on prices — both for farmers and consumers.
Here's what we know.
What is African swine fever?
African swine fever is a highly infectious and contagious disease that's been spreading throughout pig populations worldwide.
Experts say the disease has wiped out an estimated 25 per cent of the world's pig population.
The fever has been reported in around 50 countries, including China, Belgium, Slovakia, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The spread of the disease has now reached Timor Leste, a nation less than 700 kilometres from Darwin, posing an increased risk to Australia.
Will swine fever make me sick?
No. Unlike swine flu, African swine fever doesn't pose a threat to human health — it's only harmful to pigs.
While people can't contract swine fever, they can spread it.
It's not to be confused with swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.
That virus is different and can infect humans' noses, throats and lungs and can be spread when someone coughs or sneezes.
How do pigs get it?
African swine fever is spread when pigs come into contact with contaminated pigs, pork products, feed, ticks, and infected material such as syringes.
The disease can be found in pork products even if they've been cooked or frozen.
It can also be transmitted via humans wearing contaminated clothing and boots into an area where uninfected pigs are kept, resulting in infection.
The disease has a 100 per cent mortality rate in pigs.
Will it come to Australia?
Australia's chief vet, Mark Schipp, hopes not. He says Australia has good biosecurity systems at both the border and on its farms that could keep the disease out.
Like African swine fever, rabies has recently arrived in Timor Leste, and yet despite its proximity to Australia, the disease has been kept out of the country to date.
The Australian Government has banned the import of pig products from countries infected with African swine fever.
In the eight months to September, border officials confiscated 27 tonnes of pork products at Australian airports.
Victorian pig farmer Tim Kingma hopes that message sinks in with travellers.
"I'm a passionate pig farmer and I want people to be passionate about not bringing products into Australia that are illegal," he said.
What does African swine fever mean for food prices?
African swine fever is already affecting prices in Australia despite not being in the country.
As the fever spreads and kills more pigs, it'll likely have a larger impact on Australia.
By the end of the year, China will have a 10 million tonne pork shortage.
While pork prices will be directly affected, there will be an indirect effect on other sources of protein.
Analyst Andrew Whitelaw, from Mecardo, said people were looking for alternative foods to eat, and that was driving up the demand and prices for all proteins globally.
"We're seeing it across every protein — salmon, beef, mutton and chicken and pork — really over the past six months and the bulk of that increase is attributed to swine fever,"
What happens if it gets into Australia?
Sites where mass burials of pigs may need to be carried out have already been identified by the Government but the locations remain a secret.
Industry has also been asked to consider how pig carcasses might be disposed of without risking soil and water contamination.
Dr Schipp said the Government would compensate farmers should they have to kill their pigs in the event of an outbreak.
He said the compensation would be based on the market rate of the day.
Can African swine fever be stopped?
Dr Schipp says the Government is considering how it can put more resources into keeping Australia free from the deadly pig disease.
He said a recent meeting of leaders from the pork industry called on the Government for more biosecurity funding.
"Obviously if you're one of those industries that is likely to be affected, you'd like to see more resources," he said.
"But if those resources are to be allocated, they need to be sourced and we need to evaluate other priorities, and that is the process I understand the Minister and her colleagues are going through at the moment."
Ultimately, without a cure or vaccine, farmers are desperate for it to stay out of Australia.
"There's no vaccine, there's no cure, if my farm was to get it, all my pigs would be destroyed," Mr Kingma said.
Topics: government-and-politics, rural, agribusiness, agricultural-insurance, agriculture, government-and-politics, disease-control, diseases, veterinary-medicine, disease-control-methods, business-economics-and-finance, agricultural-policy, livestock, animal-nutrition, miscellaneous-animal-production, australia
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