The statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not identify the farm nor its owner where 221 pigs died on the 19,938-head farm.

October 15, 2018

2 Min Read
20,000 pigs at risk in latest China African swine fever outbreak
China Photos/Getty Images

Source: Reuters
African swine fever continues to spread across China, this time hitting the largest farm yet. According to Reuters, the farm with nearly 20,000 pigs, is just one of three cases confirmed in Liaoning on Monday. 

The statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not identify the farm nor its owner where 221 pigs died on the 19,938-head farm. The other two cases stemmed from Panjin where one 1,571-head farm reported losing 109 pigs, and another smaller farm lost 129 out of its 270 pigs.

African swine fever is a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease of pigs that produces a wide range of clinical signs and lesions that closely resemble those of classical swine fever, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual. The virus can spread rapidly in pig populations by direct or indirect contact and persist for long periods in uncooked pig products. The virus can also become endemic in feral or wild swine, and transmission cycles between these animals and Ornithodoros ticks can complicate or even prevent eradication.

After recent research led by Scott Dee, Pipestone Applied Research, and researchers from South Dakota State University and Kansas State University demonstrated that certain feed ingredients can support viral survival, the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and the Swine Health Information Center are encouraging producers to remain vigilant with feed ingredients and feedstuffs, including holding times.

Last week China began to lift some restrictions on certain areas that were infected with the virus early in the outbreak. Local authorities in Yueqing in eastern Zhejiang province, where ASF was found in August, removed the strictest curbs on the infected area, but China’s Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs still urges swine producers to take proactive measures to prevent a recurrence of ASF.

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