Disease

Cholera - Zimbabwe - Update

Reports from Zimbabwe say the death toll from cholera has now risen to 28. Meanwhile, the authorities are reporting three cases of the disease in the second city of Bulawayo. Bulawayo will be the seventh province to be affected by this cholera outbreak, which began in Harare early this month.

China - Foot and Mouth Disease

China’s Ministry of Agriculture reported on Friday an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a herd of cattle that was transported to the Xinjiang region from Gansu province. The local government in Xinjiang then culled 47 cattle following the outbreak.

African swine fever spreads to Belgium

An outbreak of African swine fever terrorising pig farmers in Europe has dramatically escalated with the confirmation that the deadly infectious disease has spread to Belgium.

The discovery of the highly contagious disease in two wild boars found dead near the town of Étalle, in Gaume, has sparked calls for a mass cull of that species to protect western Europe’s pork industry.

The Dutch and French authorities have been put on high alert while Belgium’s farming minister, René Collin, has ordered a ban on hunting until mid-October, along with restrictions on the movement of animals across a territory of 63,000 hectares in the south of the country. Walkers have been asked to stay on footpaths and 67 farms are being tested for signs of an outbreak.

African swine fever was last seen in Belgium in 1985, and led to the culling of 30,000 pigs. It causes haemorrhaging and is incurable in pigs, although it is not dangerous for humans. Discovery of the disease in Europe’s second-largest farm in Romania last month resulted in the culling of 140,000 animals.