Originally published August 15 2005
Chinese farmers possibly helping the spread of swine flu
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Some Chinese farmers are ignoring a directive from their government to bury infected swine correctly, which could lead to the spread of the disease, Chinese media said recently.
Many frugal farmers in southwest China are refusing to bury infected pigs safely, Chinese media said on Tuesday, raising fears that a deadly swine flu could spread further after infecting almost 200 people and killing 36.
The Beijing News said city authorities had blocked inward shipments of about 4,000 tonnes of pork and pork products from stricken Sichuan province up to July 31.
Many impoverished Sichuan farmers, having already bought piglets, inoculation and feed, are refusing to spend more on burying sick pigs with disinfectant.
Asked whether her family had followed government orders to dispose of their sick pigs, the wife of farmer Liu Yanxue in Sichuan's hard-hit Zizhong county reportedly told state television: "At any rate, we didn't eat them".
Zizhong health worker Wen Youhai had admitted to simply taking farmers' word that they had properly handled sick pigs rathe than observing burials in person, the daily said.
The Health Ministry Web site, in its latest bulletin, said two deaths and 17 infections with pig-borne bacteria Streptococcus suis had been reported between Sunday and midday Monday in Sichuan.
Health officials insist the outbreak is under control and that the latest victims represented previously undiagnosed cases, not new cases which would indicate the disease was spreading.
In one unconfirmed report, the Chongqing Evening News said last week an unscrupulous meat dealer had dug up sick and dead pigs he was forced by police to bury a day earlier and sold the meat in a nearby town for a big profit.
Sichuan has launched a campaign to educate illiterate farmers and their children not to slaughter or eat sick pigs.
Shipments of pork from Sichuan, China's top producer, to Hong Kong have been stopped and the city has stepped up inspections and quarantine procedures on all live pigs and frozen pork imported from the mainland.
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