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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business/Markets -> 
African swine fever cases decreasing
    2019-07-05  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE number of fresh outbreaks of African swine fever in China has dropped this year and pig production is slowly returning to normal, the country’s vice agriculture minister said Thursday.

African swine fever is deadly to pigs and there is no cure or vaccine for the disease, which has swept across China, the world’s top pork producer, since August last year.

Asked about reports of recent fresh outbreaks of swine fever, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Yu Kangzhen said China had seen only 44 new cases in the first six months of 2019.

That brings the total number of cases China has reported since the first one in August 2018 to 143, with 1.16 million pigs culled, Yu told reporters at a briefing.

Yu said the government is currently checking online reports of alleged outbreaks of the disease, adding that any party not reporting a case would be severely punished.

“Our attitude is very clear: when it comes to under-reporting of the disease, though we can’t guarantee zero cases [are not reported], we will definitely have zero tolerance for it,” he said.

Some talk of cases turned out to be rumors after official checks, he said.

But he said there were still challenges in controlling the spread of the fever. Feeding kitchen waste to pigs is banned, for example, but is still taking place, Yu said.

The virus can remain in meat that has not been properly cooked, potentially infecting pigs that eat food scraps.

The capability of China’s many small farmers to prevent the disease is also weak, he said, and areas with many outbreaks tend to be places where there are not enough people and money to prevent and control it.

Yu’s comments came after the government issued new guidelines on strengthening measures to prevent and control the disease, warning that there were shortcomings in China’s efforts and that the situation remained severe.

The government said management of transporting live hogs is not strict enough and there is insufficient capacity in testing for the African swine fever virus in slaughtering plants. It also urged stricter handling of kitchen scraps.

The disease will leave China with a “tight balance” in pig supplies, said Yu, adding that imports, including from the United States, would help adjust supplies.

Others have warned of a looming shortage of millions of tons of pork. (SD-Agencies)

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