May 19, 2008

 

China battles animal disease outbreak in quake-hit areas

 

 

The 7.9 earthquake that killed at least 29,000 people in China last week has severely afflicted livestock and crops in Sichuan province as veterinary teams are on the rush to prevent more damage, officials said on Saturday (May 17).

 

Li Jinxiang, head of the veterinary department at the Ministry of Agriculture said nearly 800,000 pigs of the province's 60 million pigs have died.

 

However, the increased number of breeding sows nationwide may help stave off inflation, he said.

 

Rescue work is still going on for thousands buried in rubble after the May 12 quake, but with bodies in mass graves and water supplies disrupted, efforts now also include disinfection campaigns to prevent disease spreading among animals and people.

 

Poultry made up most of the 12.5 million birds and livestock killed by Monday's quake.

 

The quake was in time for summer diseases such as swine flu or blue ear pig disease, which decimated the hog population in 2007.

 

Li said breeding sow population was up 20 percent than the same period last year when disease and poor profits discouraged breeding. The situation has helped increase inflation rates which is now at a nearly 12-year high.

 

The quake also destroyed fish farms and about 15 percent of vegetable production in the afflicted areas near the epicentre, the officials said. As many as 50,000 greenhouses were damaged.

 

Sichuan accounts for nearly 15 percent of China's rapeseed production, nearly 7 percent of summer grains and 5 percent of vegetables.

 

Irrigation damages will not be repaired quickly, according to officials. Sichuan is releasing water from reservoirs to reduce pressure on weakened dams.

 

Wei Chaoan, China's vice minister of agriculture said rice paddies will be severely affected and more problems will likely appear as damages continue to mount.