#13,477
For the second day running, and the third time in 5 days, China's MOA is reporting on an African Swine Fever outbreak in Anhui Province - the country's 7th outbreak in the 30 days since the disease was first identified there.
Like yesterday's report, today's outbreak is reported in Xuancheng City, which is a Prefecture-level city, covering nearly 4,800 sq mi and hosting a population of roughly 2.5 million people.From China's MOA:
(Translated)
African swine fever epidemic occurred in Jinba Office, Xuanzhou District, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province
Date: 2018-09-03 15:33 Author: Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office [
The news office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was released on September 3, and an African pig swine epidemic occurred in the Jinba office of Xuanzhou District, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province.
On September 3, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs received a report from the China Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center and was diagnosed by the China Center for Animal Health and Epidemiology (National Center for Animal Disease Research). A culture of Jinba Office in Xuanzhou District, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. There was an African swine fever epidemic in the farm. The farm had 308 pigs, 152 with 83 deaths and 83 deaths.
After the outbreak, the local authorities have started the emergency response mechanism according to the requirements, and adopted measures such as blockade, culling, harmless treatment, disinfection, etc., to treat all the sick and culled pigs harmlessly. At the same time, all live pigs and susceptible animals and products are prohibited from entering or leaving the blockade. At present, the epidemic has been effectively disposed of.
Although its arrival has been long feared (see March 2018 FAO Risk Assessment), the discovery of African Swine Fever in Chinese pig herds this month has set off alarm bells in China's pig industry, the Chinese MOA, and around the world.
ASF is not a zoonotic disease, but among pigs, it is highly contagious and extremely deadly and no effective vaccine exists. The only remedy is stamping out - by culling all exposed pigs - and properly disposing of the carcasses.China produces half the world's hogs, and is highly dependent upon pork products to feed its 1.4 billion people. Two weeks ago, Science Magazine published an article which sums up the situation.
Can China, the world’s biggest pork producer, contain a fatal pig virus? Scientists fear the worst
By Dennis NormileAug. 21, 2018 , 3:30 PM
A nightmare is unfolding for animal health experts: African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious, often fatal disease of domestic pigs and wild boars, has appeared in China, the world’s largest pork producer. As of today, ASF has been reported at sites in four provinces in China’s northeast, thousands of kilometers apart. Containing the disease in a population of more than 430 million hogs, many raised in smallholder farmyards with minimal biosecurity, could be a monumental challenge.
(Continue . . . )
Meanwhile, the spread of ASF in Eastern Europe, and across Russia, continues to accelerate (see DEFRA: Update On African Swine Fever (ASF) In Eastern EU), increasing concerns that this swine disease could spread into Western Europe.
