African swine fever spreads in China
Feeding untreated kitchen waste to pigs, which is not officially allowed, is considered the cause of the outbreak
Beijing — China’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that it was banning the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after linking the practice to the majority of the early cases of African swine fever. The statement from the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs is the government’s first comment on how the deadly disease has spread in the world’s top pork producer. China has reported more than 40 outbreaks of the highly contagious disease since early August, with farms across 12 provinces and municipalities already infected. Beijing has not yet said how the disease first entered the country but the ministry found 62% of the first 21 outbreaks were related to the feeding of kitchen waste, according to a statement published on its website. “These outbreaks were mostly located in urban-rural boundaries, and were particularly evident in several cases in early September in Anhui province,” the statement said. Anhui is an eastern province whose capital Hefei is located about 415km west ...
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