Blue-eared pig disease in China under control

October 30, 2007 — 

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) declared yesterday that it has brought blue-eared pig disease, also known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), under control.

Gao Hongbin, Vice Minister of Agriculture, told a press conference held in Beijing that by Oct. 25, the highly pathogenic disease had infected 310,134 pigs this year in 1,030 epidemic outbreaks, affecting 304 counties in 26 of China's provinces or administrative areas. Of the infected pigs, 81,030 died and in the interests of controlling the epidemic, 235,380 pigs were culled across the country.

"The disease began to decline after peaking in June this year," Gao said. "Between July and October in 2007, outbreaks became smaller and smaller."

PRRS does not pose any risk to human beings, but can be fatal for pigs and is highly infectious. There is no effective cure at present, though pigs can be immunized by vaccination.

According to Gao, a vaccination program has been conducted nationwide and the country has tightened supervision on the transport, trade and slaughter of pigs in order to combat the disease.

By Aug. 28, nearly 150 million pigs in China had been immunized against PRRS and 94 inspection teams had been sent out to pig-raising regions within the country to monitor vaccinations. The MoA in early September stated that by that time, authorities had used 380 million milliliters of PRRS vaccines.

However, some Chinese pork industry experts are cautious to accept the news in the run up to the cold season, as winter is the season that normally sees the highest PRRS incidence and death toll.

Source:
INTERFAX-CHINA, Shanghai. October 30.