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 The ministry, which has been warning against such behaviour since
2019, said tougher measures were needed to "prevent hidden risks
caused by fake African swine fever vaccines" and to ensure the
recovery of pig production and the stable development of the
industry.
China's hog herd is still recovering from a devastating outbreak of
the disease, which in its original form was almost always deadly to
pigs, and wiped out about half of the herd.
But industry insiders believe that use of illicit vaccines has
caused a new, chronic form of African swine fever, Reuters reported
in January, which causes a debilitating condition that can lower
output of hogs but is more difficult to detect.
No vaccine against the disease has been approved anywhere in the
world but several strains of the live virus with deleted genes
thought to protect against the disease are said to be circulating in
China.
The ministry said identification and testing must be strengthened,
and urged local governments to identify any positive samples of the
virus and report any strains with artificial gene deletions to
provincial veterinary authorities as soon as possible.
All localities should increase the punishment of illegal activities
related to fake vaccines, with any suspected criminal cases promptly
referred to the judiciary, it said.
Drug companies would be fined by the maximum amount, their operation
licenses revoked, and people in charge banned from producing
veterinary products for life.
The ministry also plans to roll out an education campaign for
farmers about the risks of using fake vaccines and 30,000 yuan
($4,600) will be offered to anyone informing authorities about their
use.
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The latest action comes amid growing concerns about a resurgence of
swine fever during winter months. Official outbreaks have been
reported across the country, most recently in Sichuan, Hubei and
Yunnan, though analysts say the prevalence is much, much higher.
"The ASF problem is quite serious and has been quite seriously out
of control for a while," said Wayne Johnson, a veterinarian at
Beijing-based consultancy Enable Ag-Tech Consulting.
Although the steps taken by the ministry should be applauded, some
producers will struggle to comply with the ban on sending pigs
infected with the virus to slaughterhouses, he added.
"There is no place for them to go," he said.
Provincial authorities must report on their work against the use of
vaccines by June 30 and again by Nov. 30, said the ministry.
It also said the Chinese Center for Animal Disease Prevention and
Control and the Chinese Center for Animal Health and Epidemiology
will strengthen epidemiological investigation of the "new strains"
of African swine fever.
Researchers recently reported finding several mutations of the
virus.
($1 = 6.5073 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Michael Perry and Richard
Pullin)
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