BEIJING (Reuters) – China detected African swine fever in pigs being transported to Guangxi region from outside provinces, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday.
The disease was found in 52 pigs in a truck in Fangchenggang city in the southern region, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website. One pig had already succumbed to the disease, it added.
The viral disease can lead to death of the infected animal in 2-10 days on average and the mortality rate can be as high as 100%.
China has already reported more than 140 cases of the incurable disease since it was first found in the country last August.
The deadly African swine fever disease is much more severe than officially reported in China, leading to the death or killing of as many as half of the country’s breeding pigs, according to some estimates in the industry.
(Reporting by Hallie Gu and Tom Daly; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
