Ministry says animal disease outbreaks are contained

China said on Tuesday it has contained several infectious animal disease outbreaks in northern China, with hundreds of livestock culled.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a statement on Tuesday in response to concerns about the outbreak of anthrax in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province and North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The cases were discovered in areas which have experienced infectious diseases before, the ministry said.

It states that it can control and prevent similar cases.

The ministry said it has culled 818 sheep and safely disposed of them in Heilongjiang.

Fourteen people infected with anthrax have received treatment in hospitals, with one cured, Heilongjiang’s Health and Family Planning Commission said.

“I heard about the disease but I’m not worried about it. My friends and I will go eat roast leg of lamb tonight,” Rong Ruo, a Harbin resident, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The ministry said meat bought through proper channels is safe to eat.

Officials in Inner Mongolia confirmed on Tuesday that the number of those affected rose to 16, but are in stable condition, the China News Service reported.

Local authorities have cordoned off and disinfected the area, the ministry said.

Ten thousand milliliters of the Anthrax vaccine have been transferred to sealed-off areas. As of Monday morning, 4,006 cattle and sheep have been vaccinated, chinanews.com reported.

Anthrax is a disease which affects herbivorous mammals, although other mammals have been known to contract it. Humans generally acquire the disease from infected animals who handle such animals, or through contaminated animal products like meat or hair.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on Tuesday the outbreak of Type O foot-and-mouth disease in pigs in Zhengzhou, capital city of Central China’s Henan Province – the latest confirmed case of an infectious animal disease.

Officials have culled and disposed of 173 pigs.