New African swine fever variants kill up to 8m pigs in China, devastating herd rebuild plan

A second wave of African swine fever (ASF) is estimated to have killed as many as eight million pigs in China since the start of the year, derailing the country’s plans to rebuild its national herd.

The first reported outbreak of the disease was in August 2018 and within a year it had spread to multiple countries and killed an estimated 25 per cent quarter of the world’s pig population.

Independent meat analyst Simon Quilty said the ASF variants that…