Blue-ear pig disease affected 22,634 pigs in 32 counties in 11
Chinese provinces between July 1 and 22, killing 6,433 and
requiring the culling of 15,728, an official with the Chinese
Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said on Wednesday.
The official told a news briefing that the number of cases had
declined from the previous month but did not provide any figures to
support his claim. The MOA said that from the beginning of January
1 to July 22, 165,144 pigs in 25 provinces were infected with the
disease, of which 45,546 died and 42,728 were culled.
Li Jinxiang, an inspector with the Veterinary Bureau under the
MOA, said, compared with last month, the number of disease-hit
counties, dead pigs and culled pigs were all declining thanks to
increased supplies of vaccines and financial aid from the MOA.
According to Li, about 150 million milliliters of the vaccine
have been used to curb the spread of the pig disease by July 25.
Another 250 million milliliters would be produced in August. The
MOA has already allocated 10.8 million yuan (US$ 1.43 million)to
finance affected areas.
On the current tight market supply of pigs and the price hike of
pork, Li said the supply was expected to increase early next year
and the pork price would remain at a relatively high level in the
near future
(Xinhua News Agency July 26 2007)
