There are several diseases which may not be so harmful to humans, but they can become deadly to other animals. African swine fever is one such example.

African swine fever is reported to be spreading in China. Previous outbreaks Russia, Estonia and Georgia were also reported over in the last decade.

African swine fever is transmitted via 5 ways

1. Contaminated food

2. Ticks

3. Animal contact

4. Animal feed

5. Traveling

This is the fourth outbreak that has affected China in the last 3 week, a major issue since China is said to have the largest herd of hogs globally. Hence Chinese authorities are trying to identify the causative factor to put an end to this national issue. In order to stop the transmission of disease in the eastern province of Zhejiang, Chinese authorities are slaughtering an estimated 1300 hogs and sealing off the area from other animal communities. In spite of tracing the movement of pigs, the source still remains unidentified.

The Swine Health Information Centre, a U.S. research body is still perplexed. “It is unclear how this disease is moving through the country. It is appearing in a range of farms across swine-dense areas. Trade in pigs, semen and pork products are all possibilities.”  They further added, “The hardiness of this virus, along with the fact it is found throughout the pig as well as its feces and saliva, means these leaps of the disease across large distances are possible.”