China reports skin disease outbreaks in cattle due to virus

[July 15, 2020]  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is facing outbreaks of a debilitating virus in cattle that causes a condition called 'lumpy skin disease', following an incident on a farm in the eastern province of Zhejiang this week, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

On its website, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said five cases were found during June in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian and the eastern provinces of Jiangxi and Anhui.

"The local area has effectively dealt with the epidemic," the ministry said of this week's incident. "It has killed two diseased cattle and disposed of them, and (the farm) has been thoroughly and completely disinfected."

The disease does not affect people and is thought to be spread by flies or mosquitoes, causing nodules to form on the skin, with accompanying symptoms such as much lower milk production, but it is rarely fatal.

Taiwan also reported its first case of the disease this month on Kinmen Island.

(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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