China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said Monday that foot-and-mouth disease infections were confirmed in livestock in southwest China's Sichuan Province. A total of 30 pigs at a slaughterhouse in the city of Guangyuan showed symptoms associated with foot-and-mouth disease on Saturday, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying. The National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory on Monday confirmed that those pigs were infected with type-O foot-and-mouth disease, it said. To prevent the disease from spreading, local authorities have sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where a total of 124 pigs have been culled and safely disposed of, according to the MOA. Foot-and-mouth disease is a contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovid.
