The provincial bureau of inspection and quarantine in south
China's Guangdong said Tuesday it has stepped up
actions to ensure pigs supplied to Hong Kong and Macao are
safe.
Huang Weiming, deputy director of the bureau, said they have
urged local quarantine and inspection offices to work closely with
veterinaries, and keep a close eye on the development of the
blue-ear pig disease in areas near some 94 pig farms that are
registered suppliers to the two regions.
Huang said pig farmers are required to disinfect and vaccinate
their pigs and test them before shipping them to Hong Kong and
Macao.
Huang said electronic ear tags are being used at some pig farms
to establish a history of each animal.
According to Huang, Guangdong provides 2,030 pigs to Hong Kong
and Macao a day, or about 40 percent of the pigs supplied from the
mainland.
Pork prices have jumped about 30 percent in some mainland
cities, and pork prices in Hong Kong have increased by seven
percent in recent days.
Statistics with the bureau shows 306,493 pigs have been
transported from the province to Hong Kong and Macao in the first
five months this year.
The Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday the blue-ear pig
disease, also known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory
Syndrome (PRRS), has killed 18,597 pigs and forced another 5,778
pigs to be culled in the first five months of this year.
The disease was first discovered in the United States in 1987
and spread to China in mid 1990s.
The virus cannot be transmitted to humans.
China's Ministry of Agriculture last Thursday issued a notice to
prevent and control of blue-ear pig disease as the country is
entering the peak season for the disease.
The Ministry of Communications has issued an urgent notice
calling transportation departments to give priority to the delivery
of pork and live pigs.
The central government has allocated 280 million yuan (US$36.5
million) to fund vaccinations of pigs.
(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)