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WARNING: Deadly PIG disease could bring down Chinese economy sparking GLOBAL crisis

A KILLER pig disease which could spread to China and cripple its economy has sparked fears a ‘global’ crisis with reports SIX countries in the European Union have already detected cases of the deadly virus.

 

Up until now, China has managed to remain largely unscathed by the African swine fever (ASF), which has a mortality rate of 100 per cent in pigs, as outbreaks have sparked across Europe, South America and the Caribbean.Scientists fear that should ASF spread to China, the ramifications could be catastrophic for the world, as the nation is central to major trade links.

François Roger, a researcher with French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), said: “Each year, China produces 500 million pigs, including 40 per cent on small family farms that sometimes have just one or two pigs.

“The country could become a vast virus reservoir if ASF were to become established.

“This would be a threat to emerging economies in Southeast Asia, where pig rearing is growing rapidly. Moreover, the economic and cultural impact would be devastating, as pigs play a central role in these Asian societies. The authorities in China are aware of this, and are keen to improve the country’s preparedness before the disease arrives.”

While some nations have banned imports from countries affected by ASF, researchers have warned about the possible risks from smuggling.The deadly virus easily survives in processed products such as cured meats.

Mr Roger, who is the deputy director of the joint CIRAD unit ‘Animal, Health, Territories, Risks and Ecosystems’, said: “One bit of leftover contaminated sandwich that is thrown away and then eaten by a pig is all it takes to trigger an epidemic.

“But waste and swill from aircraft, boats and restaurants are often used in Chinese pig farms.”

The practice which is now banned in most countries is believed to have been behind the introduction of ASF into Georgia in 2007 which later spread to eastern Europe and Russia, and into Madagascar.

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) six EU countries have reported cases including the Czech Republic and Romania who are the latest to be infected.

Estonia recorded its first case of ASF in farmed pigs in July 2015 and within a month almost 15,000 were dead.

Lithuania and Poland have also reported cases of the deadly virus, while Latvia has declared an ASF emergency after more than 10,000 pigs died.

The EFSA said: “The disease is continuing to spread among wild boar. In 2017 two additional EU Member States – the Czech Republic and Romania – reported cases bringing the number of affected Member States to six.

“Experts concluded that despite concerted efforts to stop the spread of African swine fever among wild boar, humans have played a critical role in spreading the disease (for example through the disposal of contaminated waste in wild boar habitat).”In 2014 the UK Government published a guide on its website on how to spot and report the ASF disease.

According to the guide ASF “doesn’t affect humans” and at the time noted, “there has never been an outbreak of African swine fever in Great Britain”.

The news comes as the Africa nation of Madagascar is struggling to contain a deadly outbreak of bubonic and pneumonic plague, which has been attributed to the Black Death.

The plague which is deadly to humans if untreated has been described as the worst plague in 50 years with 143 deaths confirmed, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).More than 50million people in Europe were killed by the Black Death in the 1300s, which many historians believe was caused by several killer diseases including the pneumonic plague.

Neighbouring nations on the African continent have been put on high alert over fears of the plague spreading to South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Seychelles.

Express

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