China culls 8,000 pigs in Guangdong to stop FMD outbreak

Chinese authorities have culled more than 8,000 pigs in southern China's Guangdong Province in the past week after more than 1,400 in Guangzhou contracted foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

The Ministry of Agriculture said Monday that 1,474 pigs in several farms in Guangzhou's Baiyun District had contracted FMD since an outbreak detected on February 22, and that authorities have culled 8,382 pigs in the area to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Nanfang Daily said police has cordoned off the area and disinfected all vehicles moving in the vicinity. A provincial animal husbandry and veterinary official said they have not found any new animal disease outbreak in Guangzhou.

Television footage from Hong Kong's Cable TV showed police officers standing guard at one checkpoint wearing facemasks and disinfecting vehicles.

The agricultural ministry urged intensive vaccinations to prevent outbreaks of diseases, including bird flu and blue ear. This year's prevention work will face more challenges and difficulties, vice minister Gao Hongbin told a national conference last week.