April 3, 2026

Chinese authorities announced that foot-and-mouth disease has entered the country from the Russian side

A new strain of foot-and-mouth disease has entered China through its northwestern border from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, according to Reuters, citing authorities. Border provinces have been ordered to increase patrols and prevent the disease from entering through smuggling or illegal transport. An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Gansu province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China was reported by Reuters the previous day. A total of 219 cases have been detected among 6,229 head of livestock, leading authorities to cull the animals. Experts emphasize that this is the first instance of foot-and-mouth disease serotype SAT1 entering China, and existing vaccines do not provide adequate protection against this strain. Xinjiang borders the Altai Republic, which has also experienced an animal infection outbreak. As of February, Altai had 70 infection hotspots, and authorities culled over 1,600 animals. According to a representative of a Novosibirsk agroholding interviewed by Nova-Europe, an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease is ongoing in Russia, though officials have not yet acknowledged it, preventing more than half of the regions from commencing preventive vaccinations.