African Swine Fever has reached China
3rd Aug 2018 / By Georgina Crayford
Today China reported its first outbreak of African Swine Fever to the OIE. The outbreak occurred in the Liaoning Province (North East China) in domestic pigs and nine hundred pigs have been culled in an effort to control the disease.
This area has a high density of semi-commercial and commercial pig farms, as well as plenty of backyard holdings.
A recent FAO workshop apparently identified NE China as the most likely area to have an ASF incursion because of the number of truck movements, migrant workers and risk of catering waste. The source of this reported outbreak is unknown at present.
The occurrence of ASF in China is significant, given that over half the global population of pigs is located in the country.
The UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency will soon produce a Preliminary Outbreak Assessment based on this new information, outlining whether there is any change to the risk level in the UK as a result.