China says pig disease 'under control' as death toll rises; WHO disagrees

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China says pig disease 'under control' as death toll

rises; WHO disagrees

 

Fri Jul 29, 3:35 AM ET

 

BEIJING (AFP) - China's Health Minister Gao Qiang has

insisted a mysterious outbreak of a pig-borne disease

is " under control " despite a rising death toll and

case-load, but the World Health Organisation (WHO)

disagreed.

 

" So far, the epidemic has been under preliminary

control, " Gao said in a statement on the ministry's

website after visiting patients in southwest China's

Sichuan province, where the outbreak was discovered in

June.

 

The death toll rose to 31 and the number of people

affected increased to 152 by noon Thursday -- four

more deaths and 21 more cases than the day before,

according to the ministry. Twenty-seven people were in

critical condition.

 

WHO spokesman Bob Dietz, however, said it was too soon

to declare the epidemic contained.

 

" It's too early to call it under control because there

are new cases and new deaths, " Dietz said.

 

Preliminary laboratory tests in China indicated the

outbreak was caused by the streptococcus suis

bacteria, which is usually spread among pigs.

 

The WHO has said it was baffled because if the disease

was caused by the bacteria, it would be the first time

it had struck so many people at one time.

 

The organisation said more investigations, including

laboratory tests, were needed to see if other factors

might be at work.

 

The health ministry said the increase in deaths and

cases did not mean the epidemic was worsening as the

new deaths and cases were of patients who had been

hospitalized for several days, not newly infected

people.

 

These cases were being discovered due to stepped up

surveillance.

 

Gao urged local governments to report cases in an

accurate and timely manner in a warning against

cover-up for fear of export bans and other

repercussions, as seen during the outbreak of the

deadly respiratory disease SARS in 2002.

 

So far the disease has only been reported in parts of

Sichuan.

 

Statistics show there are more than one billion pigs

raised each year throughout the vast country.

 

As of Friday, the epidemic had infected only people

who slaughtered or processed sick or dead pigs or

touched infected pork.

 

Gao also urged local governments to step up publicity

to teach people not to slaughter, transport, sell or

eat sick pigs. Farmers in the area have a tradition of

eating ill hogs due to poverty.

 

The city of Ziyang, where most of the cases have been

found, has meanwhile launched a campaign to register

every pig in the area's 1.4 million farming households

to see which ones were sick.

 

At least 50,000 health workers have been sent to

accomplish the task.

 

" Nearly all officials of the villages, townships are

leading inspection teams to every village, checking

the number of pigs household by household, " an

official with the city's communist party committee

told AFP.

 

" We are registering all pigs regardless of whether

they are ill or not. If there's any sign of illness,

we will ask health inspectors to come immediately.

This action won't stop until the epidemic is over. "

 

Piglets are born every day, making the task more

difficult, she said.

 

The government, which was criticized for initially

covering up SARS, appeared to be taking this latest

epidemic seriously, Dietz said, and was enforcing

proper measures, such as flooding farmers with

information on how to avoid getting ill.

 

Roadside quarantine stations have been set up to

prevent sick or dead pigs from being transported

outside affected areas while pork exports have been

suspended.

 

In Beijing, large quantities of spoiled pork were

destroyed, partly due to heightened concerns about

safety of the meat.