China Reports New African Swine Fever Outbreak in Inner Mongolia

Apr 30, 2021

China's agriculture ministry said on Thursday it had confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever on a farm in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, the 10th outbreak to be reported so far this year.

The outbreak was detected on a farm near Baotou city of 432 pigs, of which 343 died. Two other outbreaks have recently been reported in Xinjiang, northwest of Inner Mongolia.

"The epidemic is occurring in spots and no regional outbreaks have occurred," said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in a statement on its website.

Most cases of the disease go unreported, however, and the industry has said swine fever in northern China had a significant impact on hog production in the first quarter of this year.

China will divide the country into five zones from May 1 in an attempt to contain the disease, which is often deadly to pigs but not harmful to people.

Only breeding pigs and piglets will be allowed to be moved across regional borders, according to the new rules.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.