African swine fever spreads in China

African swine fever has rapidly spread to more than half of the Chinese provinces, despite measures taken to contain it, the government said, warning that a situation previously described as being under control had become " very serious".

The disease has already caused a surge in pork prices in China since its first appearance in August and has fueled growing fears of a major impact on the world's largest pork producer.

"The situation with regard to the prevention and control of African swine fever is very serious," said a joint statement from the Ministries of Agriculture, Transport and Public Security, released last Wednesday.

"The epidemic has appeared in 17 provinces and has spread to the major hog farming provinces of southern China."

In early September, government-controlled media reported that African swine fever had been found in just five provinces. The Ministry of Agriculture had said at the time that the virus was "generally under control".

The three ministries have called for strengthened supervision of the transport of live pigs to prevent the spread of the disease.

China reported its first case in August in northeastern Liaoning Province.

Since then, the disease has progressively shifted south into the major pork producing provinces, despite efforts to contain it, including slaughtering tens of thousands of pigs.

Departments attributed the spread of the violation of the restrictions imposed on pigs moving from affected areas.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned in August that the disease could spread to other parts of Asia.

African swine fever is not harmful to humans, but causes fatal haemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs and wild boars.

Without antidote or vaccine, the only known control method is the slaughter of animals.

According to the FAO, about half of the world's pigs are raised in China, and the Chinese are the largest per capita consumers of pork on the planet.

The emergence of the disease has fueled growing fears of a major impact on the world's largest pork producer