#14,079
For the first time in nearly a month China's MOA has posted announcements of two new outbreaks of African Swine Fever; one detected at a slaughterhouse in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province and the other in Zoige County, Sichuan Province.
Reporting from China appears to be fragmented, and intermittent at best, with the MOA reporting just over 1 million pigs lost since September (see FAO Report).Other estimates from outside observers and agencies (see African Swine Fever In China: Epizootic or An EpicZootic?) paint a far worse picture, with estimated losses pegged as anywhere from 100 million to 200 million pigs.
While the MOA reports may not reflect the full story of ASF in China, they are worth noting. From May 18th, we get the following translated report:
A small slaughterhouse in Wudang District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, transferred to the pig rafts to detect the African swine fever
Date: 2019-05-18 15:06 Author: Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office
The Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was released on May 18th. The foreign provinces of a slaughterhouse in Wudang District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, were transferred to the raw pork chops to detect the African swine fever.
At 13:00 on May 18, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs received a report from the China Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center, which was diagnosed by the Guizhou Provincial Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center.
A slaughterhouse in Wudang District of Guiyang City detected the African swine fever epidemic. According to preliminary investigations, the batch of pigs was illegally transferred from the province by the owner. Up to now, the batch of 75 pigs has a total of 6 diseases and 6 deaths.And this, published today (May 20th).
Immediately after the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent a steering group to the local area to carry out epidemic supervision and epidemiological investigation. The local government has initiated an emergency response mechanism as required to block the slaughterhouse, control all vehicles, pigs and pig products on the site, prohibit all pigs and their products from being released from the blockade zone, and prohibit pigs from being transported into the blockade. At present, the above measures have been implemented, and the local public security department has controlled two carriers.
Zoige County, Sichuan Province, diagnoses African swine fever
Date: 2019-05-20 18:11 Author: Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office
The Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was released on May 20, and the Zoige County of Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, detected the African swine fever epidemic.
At 14:00 on May 20, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs received a report from the China Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center. It was diagnosed by the Sichuan Provincial Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, and the African swine fever epidemic occurred in the town of Zhagai, Aba Prefecture. Up to now, there have been 429 live pigs in the township epidemic area, with 111 diseases and 78 deaths.
Immediately after the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent a steering group to the local area. The local government has 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 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.
Meanwhile, the FAO has updated their ASF in Asia webpage, which includes the following summaries:
Situation update
China
Since the China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) confirmed its first African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Liaoning Province on 3 August 2018, 130 ASF outbreaks detected in 31 Provinces/Autonomous Region/Municipalities/Special Administrative Region. MARA reported on 23 April 2019 that 1,026,000 pigs have been culled in an effort to halt further spread [reference].
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: ASF virus was detected in a single sample from Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse (SSSH). The pig was from a farm in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province. The sample submitted on 2 May tested positive for ASF on 10 May. Operations at SSSH have been suspended, around 6 000 pigs at the SSSH were destroyed, followed by cleansing and disinfection [reference1, reference2].
Mongolia
Since its first report on the 15 January 2019, 11 outbreaks in 6 provinces and in Ulaanbaatar have been reported, involving 105 farms/households. More than 3,115 pigs, more than 10 percent of the total pig population in Mongolia, have died/been destroyed due to the ASF outbreaks.
Viet Nam
Since the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) confirmed its ASF outbreaks on 19 February 2019, a total of 30 provinces/cities reported outbreaks, and more than 1,300,000 pigs pigs have been culled [reference].
Cambodia
Since the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries confirmed its first ASF outbreak in Som Kaninh village, Som Thom commune, O Ya Dav District, Ratanakiri Province on 2 April 2019, more than 2400 pigs have died or been culled.
Follow the link for the full update, which includes a list of FAO recommendations and the actions being take by the FAO in regards to this expanding epizootic.
