China declares victory over African swine fever but cover-up claims call success into question

African swine fever is spreading and becoming more entrenched in China despite assurances that the situation has been brought under control according to industry insiders, with fears local authorities are covering up outbreaks while journalists are being ordered not to cover the story due to fear of spreading panic.

According to the government, the virus has spread to all provinces apart from Tibet, Xinjiang and Hainan, just seven months after the first case was confirmed last August.

While official figures suggest the number of cases is tailing off, industry figures have questioned whether this is down to an increasing reluctance to report cases rather than effective disease controls. The disease, which is not harmful to humans but is deadly for pigs, poses a serious threat to the country’s farming industry and support industries, such as animal feed.

Supply shortages and possibly higher prices caused by the disease would also affect Chinese consumers, for whom pork is a staple meat.

The virus has spread to other many countries, from Vietnam to Australia, and a red flag was raised for the United States market after the federal agents recently seized one million pounds of pork smuggled from China – although there was no indication that the meat had been contaminated with African swine fever.