News animal disease
African swine fever is a nightmare for China
The authorities in China again reported African swine fever (ASF) on Sunday 19 August. It is the third outbreak in less than 3 weeks. Willie Loeffen, specialist in ASF at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, speaks of a nightmare for China.
The third outbreak has been detected in Lianyungang, which is located in Jiangsu province. According to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, 88 pigs have died, while the animal disease has been diagnosed in more than 600 pigs. The authorities have therefore announced a transport ban and the pigs on the surrounding farms are also being culled.
Far apart from each other
Now that the third Chinese outbreak has become a fact in a short time, it can be concluded that ASF is spreading. At the beginning of August, the animal disease first appeared in the province of Lianing. The disease was diagnosed about 600 kilometers away last week found in the province of Henan, at a slaughter site of WH Group. The infected pigs had recently traveled more than 2.000 kilometers.
The third outbreak is 1.300 kilometers from Lianing. Although the disease is not dangerous for humans, Chinese society is very concerned. An investigation has been launched to determine whether there is a connection between the infections. Although the first mention was only done in August, there are strong suspicions that AVP was already present in China in mid-June. However, this was not reported at the time.
A nightmare
Luff know that research has shown that the first outbreak is a result of feeding contaminated kitchen waste. The variant of the virus is the same as the one in Eastern Europe. According to Loeffen, this makes it likely that contaminated meat products from Eastern Europe or Russia ended up in China and subsequently ended up in kitchen waste.
Loeffen thinks it is striking that the disease has now appeared in 3 different places. "If the reports keep coming, this will be a nightmare come true for pig farming in the country." Chinese pig farming plays an important role in economic terms, but also for the national food supply. Loeffen thinks it is difficult to get a grip on the infections. "The pig farms (backyard) are not always registered and are therefore difficult to trace."
However, according to Loeffen it is an advantage that the animal disease has not yet been detected in wild boars, which in Eastern Europe and Russia is the largest source of infection.
Wouter Job
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