Contingency Planning

Unidentified Pig Virus in China Worries International Health Authorities

By Jennifer Nuzzo August 23, 2007

A recent New York Times article reports that a "highly infectious swine virus" is killing pigs in 25 of China’s 33 provinces. The yet-to-be identified virus is believed to cause "an unusually deadly form of an infection known as blue-ear pig disease," which is also known as "porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome." Although there is no evidence that the virus poses a threat to human health, the outbreaks have caused a national pork shortage and "the strongest inflation in China in a decade."

It is unknown how many pigs the virus has claimed so far. The Chinese government officially reports that 165,000 of the country's 500 million pigs have been affected; however, many believe the actual number may be much larger and suspect that the virus is "rapidly moving inland and westward _ to _ China's largest pork-producing region." The article notes that the 85 percent increase in pork prices over the last year could suggest that the virus has affected more animals than China admits.

International health experts have called the outbreaks "one of the worst disease outbreaks ever to hit Asia's livestock industry.” As the Times points out, there is fear that the virus "could spread to neighboring countries, igniting a worldwide epidemic that could affect pork supplies everywhere." A similar virus has already been detected in Vietnam and Myanmar.

Health and veterinary authorities are particularly concerned about the way in which China is addressing the problem. According to the New York Times, virologists worry that "Chinese authorities are playing down the gravity and spread of the disease." They are also criticizing China's refusal to send clinical samples for independent verification by the World Organization for Animal Health. An immunologist at the University of Illinois, Federico Zuckermann, told the Times: "This is like SARS. They haven't sent samples to any international body. This is really irresponsible of China. This thing could get out and affect everyone."

Chinese officials have insisted that the "disease is under control and that a vaccine has been developed and distributed." However, international animal experts are dubious, arguing that there is "no truly effective vaccine against blue-ear pig disease." Moreover, animal experts are not certain that the blue-ear virus is responsible for the outbreaks in the first place.

- Center for Biosecurity