Martino
07-30-2005, 07:39 PM
A mystery virus, first though to be a new outbreak of avian flu, has been identified as pig fever. It took health authorirties in China three weeks to identify the virus.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4731215.stm
Authorities in the Chinese province of Sichuan have begun a campaign to tell farmers about the dangers of a swine disease that has killed 32 people.
Officials have distributed posters warning farmers not to eat sick animals and to alert the authorities if their livestock becomes infected.
Meanwhile, the infection has spread to five more cities across the province.
There are now 163 human cases blamed on streptococcus suis, which was first found in people in the area in June.
The disease has occurred near cities including Ziyang and Neijiang, but it has now spread to Chengdu and four other Sichuan cities.
State media says the pig disease is under control, but the authorities have banned independent reporting on the outbreak.
The BBC's Nick Mackie in neighbouring Chongqing says foreign journalists found speaking to people are detained, and their notes and recordings erased; no official interviews are granted.
More than 2 million notices have been issued in affected areas, the China Daily reported.
About 50,000 health workers have been sent to inspect and register pigs, and authorities have set up temporary quarantine stations to stop dead animals from reaching markets, Reuters news agency reports.
Sichuan is China's largest pig centre, producing over 50m swine annually.
Most cases have occurred in poor villages, where it is common for locals to butcher and eat sick animals rather than send the swine to market.
The bacterium streptococcus suis survives in faeces, dust and carcasses.
Many villages across the affected region knew nothing about the crisis until they had their first deaths, our correspondent says.
The head of the animal disease control unit of a neighbouring pig-producing county only learned of the crisis from the newspapers on 25 July.
The way the current crisis is being handled does little to inspire trust in the authorities' capabilities or willingness to be open with the facts, our correspondent says.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4731215.stm
Authorities in the Chinese province of Sichuan have begun a campaign to tell farmers about the dangers of a swine disease that has killed 32 people.
Officials have distributed posters warning farmers not to eat sick animals and to alert the authorities if their livestock becomes infected.
Meanwhile, the infection has spread to five more cities across the province.
There are now 163 human cases blamed on streptococcus suis, which was first found in people in the area in June.
The disease has occurred near cities including Ziyang and Neijiang, but it has now spread to Chengdu and four other Sichuan cities.
State media says the pig disease is under control, but the authorities have banned independent reporting on the outbreak.
The BBC's Nick Mackie in neighbouring Chongqing says foreign journalists found speaking to people are detained, and their notes and recordings erased; no official interviews are granted.
More than 2 million notices have been issued in affected areas, the China Daily reported.
About 50,000 health workers have been sent to inspect and register pigs, and authorities have set up temporary quarantine stations to stop dead animals from reaching markets, Reuters news agency reports.
Sichuan is China's largest pig centre, producing over 50m swine annually.
Most cases have occurred in poor villages, where it is common for locals to butcher and eat sick animals rather than send the swine to market.
The bacterium streptococcus suis survives in faeces, dust and carcasses.
Many villages across the affected region knew nothing about the crisis until they had their first deaths, our correspondent says.
The head of the animal disease control unit of a neighbouring pig-producing county only learned of the crisis from the newspapers on 25 July.
The way the current crisis is being handled does little to inspire trust in the authorities' capabilities or willingness to be open with the facts, our correspondent says.