African swine fever threatens 200m pigs in China

IN THE CHINESE zodiac, 2019 is the year of the pig. But at the moment hogs have little to celebrate. African swine fever, a highly contagious virus, has spread to every province in China. The country is the world’s biggest pork producer, and home to half the pigs on the planet. In the last year it has reported 149 outbreaks. Some 1.2m pigs have been culled, according to official statistics. Unofficial reports suggest far bigger losses. Rabobank, a Dutch bank, reckons that by year-end, as many as 200m pigs could be lost to disease or slaughter, leading to a 30% drop in pork production.

Although African swine fever is not harmful to humans, it kills up to 90% of pigs. Infected animals stop eating, haemorrhage and die, often within a week. There is no vaccine or cure. Before 2007 the disease had been eliminated from most of the world, with the exception of Africa. It reemerged in Georgia in early 2007 and spread to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Slovakia reported its first case in July.