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Chinese officials have reported another African swine fever outbreak, this time in Laiwu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (computer translated), of a farm with 4,504 pigs 17 of the animals were infected and three pigs were killed.

Since the first cases last August, China has now reported more than 100 cases of African swine fever in 27 provinces.

According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE):

  • African swine fever (ASF) is a severe viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs;
  • It is responsible for serious production and economic losses;
  • This transboundary animal disease (TAD) can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and pork products;
    furthermore, transmission can also occur via contaminated feed and fomites (non-living objects) such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, knives, equipment etc., due to the high environmental resistance of ASF virus.
  • There is no approved vaccine against ASF (unlike classical swine fever (‘Hog Cholera’) which is caused by a different virus)
  • Historically, outbreaks have been reported in Africa and parts of Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. More recently (since 2007) the disease has been reported in multiple countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, in both domestic and wild pigs.
China /CIA
China /CIA