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Supervision of pork markets tightened
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-08-04 15:11

China has ordered local governments across the country to tighten supervision of pork markets to prevent a deadly pig disease from spreading further.


A Chengdu pig farmer. China has ordered local governments across the country to tighten supervision of pork markets to prevent a deadly pig disease from spreading further. [AFP/File]

The Ministry of Commerce issued an urgent notice nationwide to call for more stringent measures to be taken to prevent any butchering, transportation and sales of dead or sick pigs, Xinhua news agency said.

"All pig slaughter houses and pork stores must be put under strict quarantine procedures to guarantee a safe supply of pork in the market," the notice said.

It also called for intensified efforts to crack down on other illegal and unsafe practices in the pork market.

The notice came as the death toll from the disease, identified as streptococcus suis bacteria, climbed to 38 on Wednesday.

One more new case was found, bringing the total number of cases to 206, according the health department of Sichuan province in southwest China, where the disease was first discovered and has been largely contained.

All the victims were found to have had direct contact with sick or dead pigs. Experts say butchering and eating infected pork is the only way for humans to catch the disease.

The bacteria is endemic in Asia, North America and Europe, with the first recorded human case in Denmark in 1968. More than 200 cases of human infection have been reported globally since then, not counting the latest outbreak.



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