Feeding pigs kitchen leftovers behind outbreak of African swine fever

Feeding pigs kitchen leftovers behind outbreak of African swine fever

Of the first 21 outbreaks of African swine fever in China, more than 60 percent were related to feeding pigs with kitchen leftovers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

More than 40 outbreaks of the disease deadly to pig have been reported in China, since the first outbreak in the country on Aug 1 in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Following the outbreaks, the ministry has taken various measures for disease control and prevention, including banning feeding pigs with kitchen leftovers at the end of August.

The ministry said in a news release on Wednesday that expert analysis has proved relations between feeding kitchen leftovers and the disease, and tests have found the disease virus in the kitchen leftovers fed to pigs in a farm in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Following the ban, cases of the outbreaks have greatly reduced across China, which proved importance of the ban in control and prevention of ASF, the ministry said.

The ministry will closely supervise disease control and prevention efforts, including carrying out the ban and banning pigs from areas in quarantine from being transported to other areas, it said.