A Chinese hog operation has culled nearly 20,000 pigs due to African swine fever (ASF), as the government reported that 200,000 pigs have been culled because of the outbreak so far.
Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Ltd. reported the culling to its investors in an online report, according to the China Securities Journal.
Dabeinong Group operates 40 production facilities through 67 subsidiaries involved in feed, animal health, seeds and crop protection, according to WATTAgNet's World's Top Feed Companies database, which said the company produced 2.6 million metric tons of animal feed in 2017.
There have been 41 outbreaks of ASF in 27 cities throughout China since August. ASF is highly contagious and deadly and cannot be cured and has no vaccine.
To curb the spread of the disease, China has banned the feeding of food waste and the use of pig blood as a raw material in pig feed production. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also will require pig feed producers to submit samples for testing, and any feed that tests positive for the virus will be recalled and destroyed. In addition, China also has banned transporting live hogs or pig products from areas bordering a province with an outbreak.
US bans pork from Poland
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has suspended pork imports from Poland after that country has also reported an outbreak of ASF.
APHIS said that one Polish facility that exports pork to the U.S. did not follow requirements meant to prevent the spread of livestock diseases, and another facility is under review.
“The goal of our review is to ensure consistency with the stringent, longstanding safeguards in place that protect U.S. animal health from ASF,” APHIS said in a release. “USDA uses a strong series of interlocking protections against the entry of animal diseases like ASF, including restricting the entry of pork and pork products from ASF-affected countries or regions.”
Besides spreading across China, ASF is also spreading across Eastern Europe. Belgium, for instance, has confirmed several wild boar carrying the virus in that country.
Enhanced screening of passenger bags
The USDA said it is working with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff to enhance screening of luggage coming from Poland to ensure restricted products are not coming into the U.S.
This week, at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), a member of the Beagle Brigade – a team of K-9 officers and their human handlers who work for APHIS at U.S. airports to detect agricultural products in luggage – found a roasted pig head in the baggage of a person traveling from Ecuador. The item was seized and destroyed.
“Our best defense against destructive pests and animal diseases is to prevent the entry of prohibited agriculture products from entering the United States,” said Carey Davis, CBP area port director for the Port of Atlanta. “This seizure at ATL illustrates the tremendous expertise of our four-legged K-9 partners in protecting the United States.
“Pork and pork products from other continents are prohibited from entry into the U.S. to prevent the potential introduction of foreign animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and swine vesicular disease.”
View our continuing coverage of the African swine fever outbreak.
