Blue-ear pig disease now under control

Blue-ear pig disease has been brought under control thanks to the introduction of a series of tough measures to combat diseases in cattle and poultry on a nationwide scale, according to the Department of Animal Health, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

This disease broke out in Quang Nam province in February and spread quickly to 31 communes in such 4 districts of Dien Ban, Que Son, Thang Binh and Duy Xuyen, infecting 3,000 pigs. However, on April 11, the province announced that it had dealt with the outbreak successfully and had put it under control.

Meanwhile, Bac Giang province has been taken off the national list of provinces infected with foot-and-mouth disease but Kon Tum and Son La provinces have still reported cases of the disease in the last 21 days.

Now bird flu is only existent in Dien Bien province.

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China: 70 ill from tainted pig organs

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- At least 70 people in one Chinese province have suffered food poisoning in recent days after eating pig organs contaminated by a banned food additive, state-run media reported Monday.

Health officials in the Guangdong province in southeast China said most were treated at hospitals and released, but at least three people remained hospitalized, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The victims complained of stomach aches and diarrhea after eating pig organs bought in local markets since Thursday, China's Xinhua news agency reported. A local health official said initial investigations indicated that the pig organs were contaminated by clenbuterol, an additive that is banned in pig feed in China.

Three people were detained for suspected involvement in raising and selling contaminated pigs, authorities said.

Clenbuterol can prevent pigs from accumulating fat but is harmful to humans and can be fatal. One of the largest food poisoning cases involving clenbuterol happened in Shanghai in September 2006, when 336 people were hospitalized after eating pig meat or organs contaminated with the additive, China Daily said.

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Chlamydia jag has pig future

Published Date: 23 October 2008

THE growing problem of chlamydia in Chinese pigs has prompted an Edinburgh firm to devise a vaccination which could eventually be used on humans.

BigDNA has teamed up with the China Agricultural University in Beijing to produce jags, which will initially be used on pig farms and on other animals, but it is hoped it can eventually be used to inoculate humans. 

Dr Jason Clark, principal researcher at the Roslin-based firm, said: 

"Chlamydia is a major problem on pig farms in China."