Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 8/17/18



A second case of African swine fever was discovered Thursday in China, at a slaughterhouse owned by WH Group Ltd.’s Chinese unit, Reuters reported. 

About 30 hogs died of the disease at the slaughterhouse in Zhengzhou in central Henan province after traveling from a farm in China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang, according to the report, which cited a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

A WH Group spokeswoman told Reuters the slaughterhouse was sealed off and operations suspended.

The outbreak follows the culling of thousands of pigs about two weeks ago in the northeastern province of Liaoning after the discovery of China’s first case of African swine fever, the report said.

The distance between the first detection, in Shenyang, and the newly identified farm, as well as slaughterhouse, shows that the disease is being transported widely, the University of Minnesota’s Swine Health Information Center said in a special announcement.

“The areas of concern now involve multiple Chinese provinces and heighten the likelihood of further cases,” the center said in its alert.

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