Monday, March 18, 2019

U.S. seizes 1 million pounds of Chinese pork on the chance it could be contaminated with African swine flu

U.S. border agents in New York seized about 1 million pounds of pork from China last week, amid fears the meat could be contaminated with African swine flu.

"China, home to the world’s largest hog herd, has reported 112 outbreaks of the highly contagious disease in 28 provinces and regions since August, with the vast majority found on farms, with one at a slaughterhouse," Humeyra Pamuk and Tom Polansek report for Reuters. "The disease can kill hogs in just two days, but is not harmful to people. About 1 million pigs have been culled so far in an effort to try to control the spread."

Anthony Bucci, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told Reuters that the agency was working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine whether any of the confiscated pork had swine flu.

"U.S. officials decided to ramp up their fight to avoid the virus after Vietnam confirmed its first cases last month," Pamuk and Polansek report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture "said it will add more dogs to sniff out illegal pork products at airports and seaports."

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