PRRS: China steps up efforts against blue-ear pig disease

China is stepping up efforts against an outbreak of deadly pig disease that has spread through much of the vast nation and sent pork prices skyrocketing, the Agriculture Ministry said Thursday.

Blue ear, also known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, has infected 280,000 pigs since the start of the year, killing more than 70,000, chief veterinary officer Jia Youling was quoted as saying at a news conference by the official Xinhua News Agency.

China has already vaccinated 200 million pigs, yet the disease continues to linger in 14 of China's more than 2,860 counties, Jia was quoted as saying.

At its height, the disease was present in 286 counties, he said.

No details on the increased measures were given, although the number of pigs vaccinated was double the figure from Aug. 23, when the ministry said it had the outbreak under control.

The disease's toll on China's herds has sent pork prices sharply higher, helping to push overall inflation to an 11-year-high of 6.5 percent last month.

With pork China's staple meat, the country's top leaders have ordered measures to boost supply, including incentives to farmers and, where needed, the release of frozen pork reserves.

However, blue ear disease is considered just one factor in the price rise, along with higher feed prices and a sharp downturn in hog raising among farmers burned by a fall in pork prices last year.

Vice Agriculture Minister Yin Chengjie was quoted as telling the same news conference that pork prices were "unlikely to increase drastically in the long run as the nation had come up with a series of measures to encourage farmers to raise pigs."

"Under new policies, farmers can now turn a profit of up to 400 yuan (US$53;¤38) per pig," Yin said, adding that "would help rekindle the enthusiasm of farmers who suffered losses from raising pigs back in 2006".