NPR

A Deadly Virus Threatens Millions Of Pigs In China

In August, cases of African swine fever began cropping up. Can China bring it under control?
Pigs in a pen in a village in Linquan County, China.

Farmer Gao Yongfei is paying much closer attention to his more than 5,000 pigs than ever before.

That's because hundreds of pigs at farms nearby are dying from a mysterious virus, and Gao and his staff are now vigilantly checking his herd for symptoms of African swine fever.

"You know the pig is sick if its mouth has turned dark and it's acting crazy," says the 64-year-old

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