African swine fever reaches Beijing; 600,000 pigs slaughtered
According to Reuters, China has reported the first cases of African swine fever in Beijing on two farms in a southwestern district of the capital city.
According to Reuters, China has reported the first cases of African swine fever in Beijing on two farms in a southwestern district of the capital city. The country has announced it will adjust its rules on controlling the spread of African swine fever (ASF) to keep pork supplies stable.
China has issued strict bans on moving pigs out of provinces and regions infected with the highly contagious disease, leading to excess supply in some areas and shortages in others. Some farmers are struggling to sell their pigs or facing very low prices in areas were supplies are plentiful.
According to Feng Zhongwu, chief of the animal husbandry and veterinarian bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, authorities plan to make the transport of piglets easier, while still controlling the risk of spreading ASF. China will also make it possible to slaughter hogs near affected areas to relieve pressure on farms with growing herds that cannot be moved to places with higher demand due to the transport ban.
The Beijing city government sought to reassure the public, noting that ASF can’t spread to humans, and that meat sold at city markets undergoes “strict inspections.” However, meat processed in China has been found to contain the virus. The country has so far confirmed 73 cases of ASF in 20 provinces, including the latest two outbreaks in Beijing, with a total culling of 600,000 pigs as of November 22.
Huang Baoxu, deputy director of the China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, told reporters that 46% of all outbreaks investigated so far have been caused by people or vehicles spreading the disease. Feeding kitchen waste to pigs has caused 23 cases, while 13 outbreaks have been spread by transport of live hogs and products across regions.
Meanwhile, pork producers in the United States are working to ensure the disease doesn’t spread to their shores. The National Pork Board and National Hog Farmer combined efforts to provide an update on ASF and other foreign animal diseases and what steps U.S. pig farmers should be taking to protect their farms. According to the Pork Checkoff, studies led by Dermot Hayes, economist at Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (CARD FAPRI), have estimated that in the first year of an ASF outbreak in the United States revenue loss by commodity would be $8 billion for pork, $4 billion for corn, and $1.5 billion for soybeans.
“Keeping trade limiting foreign animal diseases (FADs) like ASF out of the United States is critical to pork producers along with taking steps necessary to elevate the level of FAD preparedness in the industry,” wrote the Pork Checkoff on its website.