China and the US argue about ASF cases
The African Swine Fever outbreak in China could be bigger than reported, thinks US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. "We think that it probably has been underreported in China - the way they’re able to control their media about that,” the American official said, according to Reuters.
Since the beginning of August, China was hit by the virus in Liaoning province and the outbreaks are now present in five different regions of the country. ASF has been detected in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as Africa but it has never been reported in East Asia.
The situation in China worries UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), a recent warning issued by the international body talking about the risk of spreading in the neighbouring countries.
In a statement on its website, China’s agriculture ministry said it cannot rule out the possibility of new African swine fever outbreaks as concerns grow over the deadly disease’s spread in the world’s largest hog herd.
The ministry said that it was not clear how widely the disease had spread, and there was much uncertainty on how the situation would develop.
China holds the largest pig population, accounting for more than 50% of the world's hogs.
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