African swine fever reaches Shanghai
Science & Health
“African swine fever (AFS) has now spread to Shanghai, infecting 50 of one farm’s 314 pigs and killing 11, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs confirmed Saturday,” reports Caixin.
- The disease has been found all over the country from the northeast — where it was first reported in August — to Sichuan — which has the most pigs of any province. Shanghai is the 19th provincial-level region to report an outbreak.
- Details about the Shanghai case are scarce, but this slightly panicky article (in Chinese) suggest that Shanghai citizens should not panic, and notes that the infected pigs were found in Jinshan District.
- “A situation previously described as under control had become ‘very serious’ (十分严峻 shífēn yánjùn),” warned China’s ministries of agriculture, transport, and public security last week.
- For more on AFS, see ‘Very complicated and very tough’ — China’s African swine fever challenge on The China Project and watch this space.
‘Very complicated and very tough’ — China’s African swine fever challenge
- In other regional disease news, the South China Morning Post reports on research that shows that about 1 percent of rats in the Hong Kong area carry the hepatitis E virus. On Monday, a 70-year-old became the second Hongkonger to contract the virus from a rodent.
