Swine fever efforts are ramped up

China has reported 20 African swine fever outbreaks as of Monday, since the first case of the disease was discovered in Liaoning province on Aug 1.

The latest case killed two pigs in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, on Saturday. Quarantine measures were imposed in the area, the ministry said.

Zhu Zengyong, an agriculture analyst at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said China still faces risks of African swine fever being imported, as the disease has been in circulation in countries close to China - even in some Eastern European countries.

"How well the disease can be controlled is to a great extent decided by the implementation of disease control and prevention measures, such as quarantines and the slaughter of animals suspected of having it," he said.

There is currently no treatment or vaccine available to cure or prevent African swine fever, which is highly contagious and has a mortality rate of virtually 100 percent in pigs. It does not affect humans.

Since the outbreaks, agricultural authorities in China have taken many measures to control and prevent the disease, including conducting monitoring and inspections covering the raising, trade and slaughter of pigs to eliminate risks.

In Shandong province, the provincial animal husbandry and veterinary department has closed all live pig trade markets in the province, and suspended transport of live pigs out of or into the province.

In a circular released last week, the department also urged pig farmers in the province to seriously carry out disease control and prevention measures, including slaughtering infected animals, sterilizing the carcasses and avoiding feeding pigs kitchen leftovers.