China may face wider bans on pork as deadly pig virus spreads
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation planning to release recommendations for governments after a crisis meeting in Bangkok
Wider bans on pork products from China may be recommended as part of emergency measures to stem the global spread of African swine fever.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations agency spearheading an international effort to control the deadly virus, plans to release recommendations for governments after a crisis meeting in Bangkok this week. The Philippines last week ordered a temporary prohibition on pigs and pig-related products from China, Russia and four European countries to prevent African swine fever. More nations may follow, the FAO said.
The contagious viral illness, which does not harm humans, can be 100 per cent fatal to pigs, causing them to die from haemorrhagic disease within days.
Tens of thousands of hogs have been culled to control outbreaks in China, which accounts for more than half the planet’s pigs.
The FAO is hosting government and pork industry officials from across Asia-Pacific at a three-day meeting that concludes on Friday.
“By this Friday, we will come up with a framework for the region with priority action plans for each country,” said Wantanee Kalpravidh, regional manager of the FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases, on Wednesday.