Thu, May 17, 2007 page17

• China dealing with mysterious pig disease 中國力抗不明豬瘟

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  China ordered pork farmers on May 8 to carry out mass vaccinations after a mysterious outbreak killed hundreds of pigs in the nation's south.

  The agriculture ministry said it had urged stepped-up vaccinations for swine fever, pig rash and swine pneumonia and called on animal medical factories to increase production of medicines.

  The directive was issued after up to 300 pigs in Guangdong Province died over the previous 10 days from a mystery disease that saw the pigs stop eating, develop fevers and begin hemorrhaging, the New Express paper reported.

  

  Pigs are seen in a pen on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Apr. 27, 2007. 四月二十七日，中國北京郊區一處豬圈裡的豬。(照片︰法新社)

  PHOTO: AFP

  Yang Weixin, head of the township where the outbreak happened, told the New Express there were up to 10,000 head of swine raised there and denied reports that up to 80 percent of the area's pigs had died.

  "According to preliminary findings from local government and provincial experts a large-scale epidemic or an epidemic that can spread from animals to people has been ruled out," Yang said. "At present the disease has been controlled."

  The epidemic has largely hit pigs being raised by individual farmers while industrial pig farms in the region, where health and sanitation conditions are better, have so far not reported any unusual outbreaks, the paper said.

  The disease has caused a panic in the local areas as residents stopped buying pork for fear of eating tainted meat, it said.

  Officials said there was no chance that tainted meat or sick pigs could find their way to markets in Hong Kong, which borders Guangdong. Transport of live pigs from the affected area has been banned.

  (AFP)

  中國南方爆發不明豬瘟導致數百頭豬死亡後，有關當局五月八日下令豬農展開大規模施打疫苗的工作。

  中國農業部表示，已經要求豬農加強施打豬高熱症、豬紅斑及豬肺炎等疫苗，並呼籲各動物藥廠提高疫苗產量。

  據《新快報》報導，官方下達這項命令，是因為廣東省爆發不明豬瘟，豬隻陸續出現厭食、發高燒和出血等症狀，十天以來死亡豬隻多達三百頭。

  爆發豬瘟的市鎮鎮長楊衛新向《新快報》表示，當地飼養的豬隻多達一萬頭，因此該區八成豬隻死亡的說法並非事實。

  楊衛新說：「當地政府與省農牧專家會勘的初步結果，已排除大規模疫情或人畜共通疫病的可能。目前疫情已經獲得控制。」

  《新快報》表示，受豬瘟波及的多半是個人養豬戶所飼養的豬，該區大型養豬場因健康衛生條件較佳，暫時沒有疫情傳出。

  《新快報》還說，疫情已造成當地恐慌，怕吃到病豬的居民紛紛停止購買豬肉。

  官員表示，病死豬肉或病豬不會流入鄰近的香港，疫區內的活體豬也禁止運往外地。（法新社／翻譯：林倩如）

  For your information

  Today's Words 今日單字

  1. swine n. 豬 (zhu1) 例: Wild boars and pigs are both types of swine. (野豬和肉豬都是豬。) 2. hemorrhage v.i. /v.t. 出血 (chu1 xie3) 例: The doctor stopped the hemorrhaging by applying a tourniquet. (醫生利用止血帶止血。) 3. epidemic n. 流行病 (liu2 xing2 bing4)，時疫 (shi2 yi4) 例: Bird flu is a potential epidemic that could kill millions. (禽流感是一種可能奪走數百萬人性命的流行病。) 4. tainted adj. 污染的 (wu1 ran3 de5)，腐敗的 (fu3 bai4 de5) 例: The meat became tainted when it was left out all night, so don't eat it. (那肉在外頭放了一夜已經腐壞，所以別吃了。)
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