China offers $179 (1,200 yuan) for each culled pig.
The dilemma lies in the balance, he said. If the compensation is too low, farmers are less likely to report. But too high, some may be incentivized to introduce the disease themselves and collect the fee.
Chinese officials have called on all stakeholders in the industry to cooperate with its efforts in stopping the virus' spread.
Although few of its neighbors, such as Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia, import pork from China, the epidemic still puts many other Asian countries at high risk. Vietnam, in particular, is one of the 10 largest pork producers in the world and shares a border with China.
Cross-border transmission
On Tuesday,the Animal Health Department of Vietnam, confirmed the country's first outbreaks of the infection on three farms located in Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces, southeast of the capital, Hanoi, claiming that all pigs had been culled.
Analysts said the epidemic will change the landscape of pig industries in China and globally.
"There will be a shift towards larger farms which can afford better facilities and that also means they are able to implement better biosecurity," professor Pfeiffer said.
The feeding of waste food to pigs will decline because the practice is a common mechanism for spreading this virus, he added.
Deng Jinping, an animal science professor at South China Agricultural University, said he's confident China has taken all necessary steps, including a ban on kitchen waste to pigs.
Enforcement, however, is always key for a sprawling country like China.
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But the crisis, he added, will present opportunities for the country's massive pork industry to foster a better future.
"The butchery industry may be forced to seek a better development. Many would hope that the [long distance] transport of live pigs will be replaced by the use of refrigerated transportation. That will better manage risks for the third parties or across different regions. So, big changes to the industry can be expected," Deng said. (VOA)