China to immunise pigs with new PRRS vaccine
BEIJING - China's Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday it would soon start to immunise pigs with a new vaccine in a bid to prevent the spread of blue ear pig disease.
11 May 2007
2 minute read
An estimated 1 million pigs have died in an unusually widespread outbreak of the disease, more formally known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), that began last May in south Jiangxi Province.
An outbreak in Guangdong province last month captured domestic and international media attention. The disease, which causes stillbirths in pigs, fever, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and redness of the skin, is not communicable to humans.
The vaccination programme will begin in Guangdong, the ministry said on its Web site (www.agri.gov.cn). It is planned to "to stop the spread of disease in its heaviest areas".
Agriculture industry officials have told Reuters that previous vaccination attempts over the last year have proven unsuccessful, which they attributed to mutations in the virus.
Source: Reuters
China orders shots after pig deaths
Mystery disease kills pigs in Southern China
For more information on PRRS, click here.
An outbreak in Guangdong province last month captured domestic and international media attention. The disease, which causes stillbirths in pigs, fever, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and redness of the skin, is not communicable to humans.
The vaccination programme will begin in Guangdong, the ministry said on its Web site (www.agri.gov.cn). It is planned to "to stop the spread of disease in its heaviest areas".
Agriculture industry officials have told Reuters that previous vaccination attempts over the last year have proven unsuccessful, which they attributed to mutations in the virus.
Source: Reuters
Further Reading
China Identifies Mystery Illness Wiping Out Pigs In Southern RegionChina orders shots after pig deaths
Mystery disease kills pigs in Southern China
For more information on PRRS, click here.
