African swine fever in China – first report

The first outbreak of African swine fever in China has been confirmed on 3 Aug 2018 by Dr. Zhang Zhongqui, Director General, China Animal Disease Control Centre, Veterinary Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China. (Since the first outbreak there are reports of 2 more confirmed and one more not yet confirmed.) China has the largest pig population in the world (433 million) and represents over half of the global pig herd. The outbreak occurred in a backyard farm in Shenbei New District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. The outbreak began on 1 August. Sequencing analysis showed that the 417 bp of B646L/p72 gene of the ASFV in China shared 100% identity with the current prevalent Georgian strain（ Georgia 2007) which is currently spreading in Russia and Eastern Europe.