Graphic shows details of African swine fever outbreaks and transmission of the disease.
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HEALTH

Swine fever threatens China’s pork industry

By Mike Tyler

February 5, 2019 - China has slaughtered almost one million pigs over the past six months as the country battles an incurable African swine fever epidemic which threatens to cripple the country’s domestic pig farming industry.

African swine fever (ASF) is a fatal animal disease affecting pigs and wild boars with up to 100 percent mortality, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Since August 2018, China has confirmed ASF outbreaks in 25 provinces. More than 950,000 pigs have been culled in an effort to halt further spread.

China produces more than half of the world’s pigs – around 700 million a year. Most of them stay within China’s borders, with just 1.6 million exported in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 06/02/2019; STORY: Graphic News
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