Authorities have tightened border controls, fast-tracked vaccines and begun culling cattle after a small outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the north-west that officials say entered from abroad.
The Ministry of Agriculture said last weekend it had started culling animals and disinfecting affected areas after outbreaks hit herds totalling 6,229 cattle in Gansu province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Industry analysts said it was the first time the SAT-1 serotype – a type of the disease endemic in Africa – had been detected in China, and that existing vaccines do not provide protection.
Border provinces including Xinjiang and Gansu were ordered to step up patrols and prevent the disease entering through smuggling or illegal transport.
“The current outbreak threatens a large region and prevention and control are under severe pressure,” said Rosa Wang, analyst from Shanghai JC Intelligence Co.
The outbreak comes as Russia battles a severe cattle disease outbreak in the Siberian Novosibirsk region, which borders Kazakhstan and is about 1200km and 2500km, respectively from the outbreak sites in Xinjiang and Gansu.
In a report published on March 20, the US Department of Agriculture said the scale of China’s response may indicate an unconfirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Russia has denied any such outbreak.
Animal diseases have previously crossed into China from Russia, including African swine fever in 2018 and foot-and mouth serotype O in 2000 and 2014.
China said the strain spreads easily, can cause major production losses and has a mortality rate exceeding 50% in young animals.
SAT-1 spreads mainly through direct contact, but can also be transmitted by air, with airborne spread stronger than that of the more common A and O serotypes, analysts said. — Reuters
