China orders shots after pig deaths

CHINA - China ordered pork farmers Tuesday to carry out mass vaccinations after a mysterious outbreak killed hundreds of pigs in the nation's south.

The agriculture ministry said it had urged stepped-up vaccinations for swine fever, pig rash and swine pneumonia and called on animal medical factories to increase production of medicines.

The directive was issued after up to 300 pigs in Guangdong province died over the last 10 days from a mystery disease that saw the pigs stop eating, develop fevers and begin haemorrhaging, the New Express paper reported.

Local farm bureaus were not immediately available for comment.

Yang Weixin, head of the township where the outbreak happened, told the paper there were up to 10,000 head of swine raised there and denied reports that up to 80 percent of the area's pigs had died.

"According to preliminary findings from local government and provincial experts a large-scale epidemic or an epidemic that can spread from animals to people has been ruled out," Yang said. "At present the disease has been controlled."

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Source: France 24

Further Reading

Mystery disease kills pigs in Southern China

Pork traders ban imports from Guangdong town

Information on Swine Fever

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