Nearly 100 hogs died from African swine flu in the city of Lianyungang in eastern Jiangsu province, China’s Ministry of Agriculture announced Sunday, as the deadly virus spreads across the world’s largest pig market.
Jiangsu is the third Chinese province to report an outbreak of the disease. The first case was reported in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, which is 1,300 kilometers north of Lianyungang, on August 3. A second emerged in the central province of Henan on Thursday, according to Reuters.
More than 600 hogs have been infected with swine flu since August 15, and authorities have locked down the affected areas with no hogs or related products allowed to be moved in or out.
However, if a much wider outbreak of the disease occurs, it could have significant implications for the global pork market. China currently produces around 55 million tons of the meat each year, which is roughly half of global supply.
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