Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak confirmed in China
Dr Zhang Zhongqui, director general of China’s Animal Disease Control Centre at the Ministry of Agriculture, informed the World Health Organization (OIE) of the outbreak on Friday (1 March).
According to the OIE report, a farmer in Shange town, Maoming, reported that 88 pigs were showing signs of the disease on 18 February. Officials visited the farm and sent samples for testing to the National Foot-and-Mouth Disease reference library, which confirmed the presence of type-A foot-and-mouth disease.
Officials culled all 948 pigs on the affected farm and have introduced a programme of quarantine, movement control, screening, zoning and vaccination in the surrounding areas to control the outbreak.
According to local media reports, China’s Ministry of Agriculture has also reported an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle in the Degki Village in Lhasa, Tibet. A total of 13 cattle showed symptoms of the disease and testing revealed they were infected with the type-0 foot-and-mouth disease. Officials culled 37 cattle to contain the outbreak.
