More cases of the pig-borne streptococcus suis infection were reported over the weekend, but officials continue to insist they are becoming better prepared and more experienced in controlling the outbreak.

Over the weekend, more human infection cases of the bacteria were identified in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and two more cities in Sichuan. By noon on Saturday, the death toll had reached 34, according to the Ministry of Health.

By noon Sunday, 181 human cases had been reported in nine regions of Sichuan, 18 more than last Friday.

Thanks to the prompt reporting of the disease and experience gained by doctors, increasingly few people are dying from the disease, the ministry said.

On Sunday, no deaths were reported in Sichuan, and 17 patients have now been released from hospital.

The ministry has not released the names of the two new regions of Sichuan where new human cases were found over the weekend. Places known to harbour the disease include Ziyang, Neijiang and province capital Chengdu.

A human case of the infection was identified in Chao'an County of Guangdong Province, on July 27.

The patient was released from hospital over the weekend, China News Service reported.

In Hong Kong, the health authority also reported one human case, which takes the total number of cases in the region to 11 since May, 2004.

The patient, an 84-year-old man, was hospitalized on June 16, he is in a stable condition.

He had not travelled outside the region or been to pig farm for a long time before he became ill, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A large quantity of vaccine, enough for 350,000 pigs, was sent to Chengdu Sunday afternoon from South China's Guangdong Province.

The producer of the vaccine, the Guangdong Yongshun Biology Pharmaceutical Factory, said it will produce enough vaccine for 10 million pigs in the coming days.

The Ministry of Health held a national television and telephone meeting over the weekend asking branches to be on alert for the bacteria.

The livestock trade in Sichuan has been hit hard by the outbreak.

In Ziyang, where human cases were first reported, people have turned away from pork, preferring poultry and beef instead.

"I know the pork in markets now is safe, but I just followed others and didn't buy it," one unidentified shopper said Sunday.

"It's hard to estimate the economic losses," said An Weining, director of the local animal husbandry department.

Authorities are also exploring ways to curb the deep-rooted practice small-scale farmers have of butchering and eating animals which are the victims of disease.

Experts say butchering and eating infected pork is the only way for humans to catch the disease.

"We might educate youngsters at school and get them to pass on the information to their families," the Party Secretary of Ziyang Zhong Mian said last week.

According to An, his department will make the inoculation of pigs against the disease compulsory in addition to the two existing compulsory vaccinations against pig-borne bacteria and foot-and-mouth disease.

According to the two officials, however, no compensation will be granted to farmers who now face difficulties selling their animals.

Zhong said the government could not compensate farmers if their animals die from disease.

The government cannot afford the expenses, Zhong said, adding that normally 50,000 of around 5 million pigs raised in Ziyang die from disease every year.

"If the government compensates farmers 1,000 yuan (US$120) for each dead animal, it will be a huge expenditure every year," Zhong said.

In Sichuan, which is known for animal husbandry, most farmers earn at least part of their income from raising pigs.

For Wang Xingcheng, a farmer infected with the disease, two-thirds of his family's income came from raising pigs, his daughter said.

Low-income families, who pay a lot for piglets, animal inoculations and feed, suffer a huge loss if they are not compensated for being unable to sell or eat their sick animals.

According to An, farmers in Ziyang sell around three-fifths of their home-raised pigs for private slaughter or to small or medium-sized food companies, who then trade the meat to markets. "One-fifth are killed and consumed by farmers themselves," An said, adding that another portion was sold to large companies engaged in meat export.

Source: China Daily