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Foot and mouth disease
hits northwest China
Mon Oct 25, 7:14 PM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - An outbreak of foot and mouth disease
hit a major livestock producing prefecture in
northwest China's Xinjiang region this month, but has
been contained, local sources told AFP.
 China
does not report outbreaks and central government and
provincial officials refused to comment, but local
government offices and companies confirmed many cows
and sheep were infected in the Yili prefecture.
"In three counties in Yili, animals were discovered to
have foot and mouth disease," said an official from
the livestock bureau of Yining county, the worst
affected area.
"They are giving vaccination shots to animals in the
area. The animals seriously ill will be dealt with,
buried."
Officials refused to say how many animals had been
killed to prevent the spread of the highly contagious
disease which affects all species of cloven-hoofed
animals.
But sources said the situation in Yili, which exports
meat around China, was "serious."
"Now in Yili, there's a very serious outbreak of foot
and mouth disease," said an executive surnamed Wang at
veterinary medicine supplier Xinjiang Huatian Shouyao
Co.
"Many cows and sheep have to be burned or slaughtered."
An employee surnamed Hu at a feed company, the Yili
Tiankang Livestock Science and Technology Co. Ltd.,
said: "I heard many animals were slaughtered. They're
not purchasing as much feed. It's had a great impact
on us."
The spokesman for an overseas rights group for Uighur
Muslims, which populate the Yili area, said he heard
more than 1,000 cows and sheep died suddenly this
month from the disease.
"Soldiers are digging pits and burying the animals
alive," said Dilixat Raxit of the Munich-based World
Uighur Congress. "There's also a news blackout."
Vehicles coming in and out of Yining were disinfected
and neighboring counties also had to vaccinate their
animals and disinfect vehicles.
"We set up checkpoints on all roads leading to our
county and shut down all livestock trading markets,"
said Zhang Aidong, an official at Nileke county.
A Yining county government official would only say: "It's
been controlled."
China is a member of the World Organisation for Animal
Health, whose 167 member countries are supposed to
report animal diseases they detect on their territory
so other countries can take preventative measures.
International experts said China, however, does not
report foot and mouth outbreaks even though it clearly
suffers from the disease which can devastate livestock,
causing significant financial losses.
Efforts are being made to bring China into the
reporting system.
Yining county is the biggest livestock-producing
county in Xinjiang, according to its website.
The Yining livestock bureau official admitted: "It
happens frequently, but this year the symptoms are
different."
Wang of the veterinary medicine company said: "The
virus has mutated."
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