Hong Kong reports foot and mouth cases

Hundreds of pigs have died of foot and mouth disease in Hong Kong.

However, officials say the illness is not pervasive enough to warrant any slaughter of animals.

Two thousand pigs from 15 farms were infected with the highly contagious animal disease from November to January, says an agriculture spokeswoman.

Viola Kwan, of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, says the illness killed 464 pigs during that three-month period.

Ms Kwan says the foot-and-mouth outbreak should not endanger public health because "the virus will be killed if the humans cook the meat before consumption".

The disease, which infects cloven-hoofed animals such as pigs, sheep, and cows, is spread very easily, causing financial losses that can spread elsewhere in the economy, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Humans almost never contract the disease, but they can help spread it via their boots and clothing.

The virus can also be transmitted by air, from one animal to another, or disseminated by contaminated feed.

Unlike European countries including Britain, which has ordered the slaughter of thousands of cattle, pigs and sheep to avoid an epidemic, the Hong Kong Government has no plans to kill any infected animals.

Ms Kwan says they will ask the farmers to isolate the infected pigs until they can recover, as well as sterilising the area where the afflicted pigs are found.

Hong Kong has set up special collection points for pigs killed by the disease.

The Department of Agriculture has set up a number of helplines which will operate from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday and 9am to 1pm on Sunday. To assist which specific queries on the current situation. The phone numbers are as follows:

Milk and Milk products [phone]

Pigmeat and Pigmeat products [phone]

Meat and Meat products [phone]

Live animals [phone]

Products general [phone]