#13,787
China's 10 day lull in reporting African Swine Fever outbreaks - which ended yesterday - continues today with the announced arrival of the virus to the 24th Chinese Province and/or territory in just over 5 months; Gansu.
This is the first new territorial gain for the virus in nearly a month, with the last being the arrival of the virus in Guangdong province in mid-December.The very brief (translated) statement from China's MOA reads:
African swine fever epidemic in Qingcheng County, Gansu Province
Date: 2019-01-13 17:34 Author: Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office
The Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was released on January 13th, and an African swine fever epidemic occurred in Qingcheng County, Gansu Province.
At 14:00 on January 13th, 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.
A case of African swine fever occurred in a farmer in Shuma Town, Qingcheng County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province. . Up to now, the farmer has 109 live pigs, 44 onset, and 9 deaths.
Immediately after the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent a steering group to the local area. The local authorities have started the emergency response mechanism as required, 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 pigs and their products are prohibited from being transferred out of the blockade, and pigs are prohibited from being transported into the blockade. At present, the above measures have been implemented.
The main drivers of the rapid spread of this devastating porcine virus across much of China remain - if not a mystery - a bit divided. The government has targeted over the past few months the feeding of food scraps (`swill') to pigs, unsanitary (or illegal) transport of pigs, and contaminated commercial feed products.
It seems likely that all of the above are components, as is the continued sale and transport of ASF contaminated food products, which keep turning up in traveler's suitcases around the globe. See:
China: No ASF Reports For A Week - But Taiwan Continues To Intercept Contaminated Foodstuffs
Japan MAFF: ASF Virus Detected In Luggage At Hokkaido Airport
South Korea Detects ASF Gene In Chinese Food Products: Additional Testing Underway).While ASF contaminated food products pose no health risk to humans, they can spread the virus to new regions, where they may make their way into either commercial or wild pigs.
All eyes will be on the upcoming Chinese New Year's and Spring Travel season - which each year inspires the largest human migration on the planet - to see how that affects the spread of the virus in China, and to other Asian countries.
Stay tuned.
