All the hogs in the epidemic area have all been culled and treated in the harmless way after an outbreak of African swine fever was confirmed in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu province on Sunday, with a total of 615 pigs infected and 88 dead. An emergency response mechanism has been triggered and the epidemic is currently under control.
As of Monday night, 14577 pigs in the epidemic area have been completely culled in accordance with the relevant technical regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Investigation has been made on more than 45,800 pigs from 854 pig farms in the threatened area with no abnormalities found. Local authorities have started to compensate the farmers for the losses incurred in culling pigs.
In order to trace the source of the virus infection, the Provincial Agricultural Committee has urgently sent an expert group on pig diseases to Lianyungang, where they were joined by the experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the veterinarian of the local veterinary department to conduct an epidemiological investigation on the pig farms in the affected areas. At the same time, further sampling and monitoring is being made on the pathogens in the epidemic. At present, work is underway to trade the origin of the epidemic.
China's Ministry of Agriculture Sunday said hogs had died from African swine fever in the eastern city of Lianyungang, the third outbreak this month, as the highly-contagious disease threatened to spread through the world's biggest pig herd.
A total of 615 hogs have been infected since August 15 with the swine fever in Lianyungang, in Jiangsu province, where authorities have banned the movement of hogs, related products and animals that are easily infected both into and outside the affected area, the ministry said.
At present, authorities in Lianyungang City has completely stopped the transfer of pigs and their products, and implemented a daily reporting system for pig slaughterhouses and harmless treatment sites.
African swine fever virus is the causative agent of African swine fever or ASFV. The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in pigs, but persistently infects its natural hosts, warthogs, bushpigs, and soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros, with no disease signs.
(source:ourjiangsu.com)
