ASF update: China reports 5th case

Press agency Reuters reported on the outbreak, on the basis of a statement of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The outbreak was discovered on a farm with 185 pigs. According to Reuters, the outbreak killed 80 of 459 hogs on a farm in Nanling County in Wuhu City, with the remaining 379 culled. The location is 350 km west of Shanghai.

Why Asia has to fear ASF – 20 reasons. Read the expert opinion

Transport of hogs and pig products

As it happened with previous outbreaks, transport of hogs and related products have been banned in the affected area, Reuters reported.

In total, now 25,000 pigs have been culled in an attempt to fight the disease. The 1^st outbreak was found in Liaoning province on 1 August. So far every reported outbreak was from a different province in China. For a detailed overview of the outbreaks, see map.

Not ruling out new ASF outbreaks

China’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday it could not rule out the possibility of new outbreaks. At a meeting, US agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue said that China is possibly underreporting the outbreaks.

Read more about pig health in the Pig Progress Health Tool

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that its rapid spread may be caused by transport of pig products, rather than live pigs.

It looks like the virus was imported from Russia. China has been sourcing pork from various countries in the surrounding area, since imports from e.g. United States has become increasingly expensive due to the trade dispute.