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| Credit FAO - June 20th |
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After a week of being offline - or at least unreachable by many in North America (see here) - China's Ministry of Agriculture website is back up this morning, and has been updated with 3 African Swine Fever outbreaks since June 20th.
These three reports appear to add fewer than 2,000 affected pigs to China's total - during a week where Vietnam has reported the loss of roughly 200,000 pigs.Although international agricultural experts continue to forecast catastrophic losses - of 30% to 50% of China's pig herd - the official line from the MOA is that everything is under control. Earlier this week China's state run media carried the following MOA statement:
African swine fever epidemic has been effectively controlled, poultry and other alternatives to increase supply. As of 6 May 16 , the National African swine fever outbreak were 137 , of which occurred this year, 38 cases, the average monthly number since the occurrence of significantly reduced, and are dotted occur. Currently, there are 26 provinces (autonomous regions) to lift the blockade affected areas, transporting pigs gradually restored order.China is currently facing a number of other agricultural challenges - including the recent arrival and spread of the highly destructive Fall Armyworm across their grain belt, droughts in some regions and floods in others - all while being embroiled in a bitter trade dispute.
China frequently goes to great lengths to control and downplay `bad news', and often treats the size and scope of disease outbreaks, and agricultural losses, or the death toll from disasters as national security issues.With those caveats, the three new reports from the MOA, after which I'll return with more.
Qinghai Ping'an District Haidong occurrence of African swine fever outbreak
Date: 2019-06-23 16:52 Author: Source: Agriculture and Rural Press Office Print
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office 6 Yue 23 released, safe area Haidong Qinghai Province African swine fever epidemic.
6 Yue 23 days, the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas to the control center reported Chinese animal epidemic prevention, the Qinghai Animal Disease Control Center confirmed that the province Haidong safe zone on France and Taiwan village lime kiln Heung African swine fever epidemic. The village farmers incidence herds of pigs 32 heads incidence of 32 head and died 17 headers.
After the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural immediately sent a steering group to guide local carry out disposal. Started as required by local emergency response mechanism, to take the blockade, culling measures to deal with harmless treatment, disinfection, culling of all pigs App and sound processing. At the same time, prohibiting all pigs and their products to bring up the blockade zone, prohibiting the transport of live pigs blockade zone. At present, these measures have been implemented.
Sandu County, Guizhou province of African swine fever outbreak
Date: 2019-06-21 20:08 Author: Source: Agriculture and Rural Press Office
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office June 21 release, Sandu County, Guizhou Province Qiannan African swine fever outbreaks occur.
June 21, the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas to the control center reported Chinese animal epidemic prevention, Animal Disease Control Center confirmed Guizhou Province, the province Qiannan Zhou Qin Sandu County town village with hearts and dry each group in the village and the town of Kou lead 4 groups of African swine fever outbreak occurred.
Up to now, Zhou Qin even the heart of the town and village cadres in each group and the town of Kou village four groups cited a total of 99 farmers, 898 pig herds, including 18 pig farmers incidence of 114, died 82.
After the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural immediately sent a steering group to guide local carry out disposal. Started as required by local emergency response mechanism, to take the blockade, culling measures to deal with harmless treatment, disinfection, culling of all pigs App and sound processing. At the same time, prohibiting all pigs and their products to bring up the blockade zone, prohibiting the transport of live pigs blockade zone. At present, these measures have been implemented.
Pingtang County, Guizhou Province occurrence of African swine fever outbreak
Date: 2019-06-20 15:19 Author: Source: Agriculture and Rural Press Office Print
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Press Office 6 Yue 20 Ri released, Qiannan Pingtang County, Guizhou Province occurrence of African swine fever epidemic.
6 Yue 20 Ri , the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas to the control center reported Chinese animal epidemic prevention, Animal Disease Control Center confirmed Guizhou Province, Pingtang County grams of town off the cloak Liangcun group Tongzhou town and village Venerable Dong Yue Yang Group occurred in Africa swine fever epidemic.
Up to now, off the cloak Liangcun set some farmers herds of pigs 65 heads incidence of 24- head and died 21 Tou; Venerable Dong Yue Yang village set some farmers pig herds 121 head incidence of 19 head and died 15 headers.African Swine fever appeared in Vietnam last February - six months after it was first reported in China - and has already resulted in the loss of at least 2.7 million pigs (nearly 10% of Vietnam's herd).
After the outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural immediately sent a steering group to guide local carry out disposal. Started as required by local emergency response mechanism, to take the blockade, culling measures to deal with harmless treatment, disinfection, culling of all pigs App and sound processing. At the same time, prohibiting all pigs and their products to bring up the blockade zone, prohibiting the transport of live pigs blockade zone. At present, these measures have been implemented.
The latest USDA GAIN Report reads:
Date: 6/20/2019 GAIN Report Number: VM9027
Vietnam Post: Hanoi
African Swine Fever in Vietnam
Report Categories: Agricultural Situation
Approved By: Megan M. Francic
Prepared By: Nga Bui
Report Highlights:
African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread rapidly throughout Vietnam, despite continuing efforts by the Vietnamese Government (GVN) to limit the impact. Vietnam announced its first detection of ASF on February 19, 2019.
As of June 17, 2019, the disease spread to 58 out of 63 municipalities and provinces across the country with 2,637,051 pigs depopulated, equal to nearly 9.4 percent of the country’s total swine population.
As of June 4, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) estimated ASF damage at VND 3.6 trillion ($154.8 million). ASF’s medium and long-term economic and social impacts will depend on the severity of the epidemic, the policy response, and Vietnam’s animal disease control capacity. Although there is no human health risk, ASF is already influencing consumer purchasing behavior. Given the complexity of the ASF situation, it may take a significant amount of time before Vietnam can control the disease and fully repopulate its swine herds.
(Continue . . . )
While Vietnam's absolute losses are currently just over twice that officially reported by China, their swine industry is 1/20th the size, making ASF's impact more than 40 times greater in half the time.
Meanwhile, ASF Continues to spread in Asia (see OIE: ASF Arrives In Laos), and countries still unaffected are battening down the hatches to try to prevent its arrival.While North America remains free from African Swine Fever, there are no guarantees how long that happy status will last.
Six years ago we saw the arrival of another, far less dangerous porcine virus - PEDV - which is believed to have originated from China (see mBio: PEDV - Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus – An Emerging Coronavirus).Six weeks ago, in USDA Enhances Domestic ASF Surveillance Efforts, we looked at plans for enhanced testing and surveillance for ASF in American pigs, in hopes of detecting - and stamping out - any infections as early as possible.
We've also seen concerns raised by both U.S. and Canadian Stakeholders (see ASF in China Prompts Call for Pork Producers to Think Feed Safety and Five Possible Pathways ASF Could Enter Canada) along with our own USDA, which recently released a 28-page ASF response plan.
While ASF doesn't pose a direct threat to human health, it is devastating to pigs and pork producers, and its continued spread in China, Asia and the rest of the world could seriously compromise already fragile economies, and food security, in many regions.
