Recently, a new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has occurred across multiple provinces in China. The epidemic has affected at least 12 provinces, including Gansu, Xinjiang, and Guizhou. This marks the first large-scale spread of this strain on the mainland. Currently, there is no effective vaccine, and the mortality rate among young livestock is as high as 50 percent. Many regions have adopted strict measures such as village lockdowns, road closures, and restrictions on livestock transportation.
According to a report by Caixin Global, outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have recently occurred in places such as Yining County in Xinjiang and Gulang County in Gansu. Authorities have confirmed it to be the SAT1 (Southern African Territories Type 1) strain—its first recorded outbreak within China. Cattle, sheep, and pigs are all susceptible to this strain, with mortality rates in young cattle reaching up to 50 percent.
Based on information circulating on social media, outbreaks have also recently been reported in multiple regions including Shanxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, and Jiangsu. Some bloggers have expressed concern that China may soon face rising meat prices again, coupled with increasing fuel costs and higher unemployment, potentially leading to more difficult economic conditions ahead.
According to a video clip, at a livestock market in a certain area, a person believed to be a staff member can be heard shouting: “It’s about to be locked down! The market is going to be closed!”
Based on a screenshot, the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service Center of Wenshui County, Lüliang City, Shanxi Province also issued a notice titled “Notice on the Suspension of Cattle and Sheep Transportation.”
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A “group announcement” sent to farms (breeders) stated that 11 provinces in China have already reported outbreaks of the SAT1 (Southern African Territories Type 1) foot-and-mouth disease. The disease is said to have a high infection rate, spreads quickly, and has a mortality rate of up to 80 percent. It advises against purchasing cattle or sheep from affected areas during this period; if purchases are made, animals should be quarantined for 21–30 days.
Another video shows several epidemic prevention workers carrying out large-scale disinfection of cattle at a farm.
At a livestock market, one breeder said that due to the “severe outbreak” of foot-and-mouth disease in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Henan, and Hebei, cattle from Guizhou have no buyers—“even at dirt-cheap prices, they still can’t be sold today.”
Another scene shows that on April 7, at what was said to be the largest livestock trading market in a certain area, no one was buying cattle. A breeder lamented: “They’re all good cattle, but they just can’t be sold.”
According to The Paper, on March 28, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that the SAT1 (Southern African Territories Type 1) strain of foot-and-mouth disease had been introduced into China, causing outbreaks in Xinjiang and Gansu. The epidemic has spread over a wide area, poses a significant threat, and the prevention and control situation is extremely severe.
Currently, there is no specific vaccine for this strain. This is the first time this strain has circulated in China, and it is characterized by a wide host range, high pathogenicity, and rapid transmission. A report by BECON [The Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network] run by the Boston University said that the virus entered through the north-western border.
The outbreak has five main characteristics:
- Susceptible animals: cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, camels, and deer
- Transmission routes: air, people, vehicles, feed, drinking water, etc.
- Severity: infection rate can reach up to 80 percent; mortality in young animals can exceed 50 percent; milk production can drop by more than 80 percent. Recovered animals may carry the virus long-term
- Incubation period: up to 14 days; symptoms are not significantly different from the commonly circulating O-type foot-and-mouth disease in China, making misdiagnosis easy
Clinical symptoms:
- In cattle: high fever (40–41.5°C), lethargy, drooling, and blisters or ulcers in the mouth, hooves, and udders; in severe cases, hoof detachment; young animals are prone to death due to myocarditis
- In pigs: mainly hoof symptoms, often leading to hoof detachment and inability to stand
- In sheep: symptoms are usually mild or even absent, but they can carry and shed the virus asymptomatically, making detection difficult
On April 10, a mainland self-media account called “Tuwei Jiaqing Bureau” reported that the outbreak site in Xinjiang was a live livestock trading market with 513 cattle, of which 142 were infected. The outbreak site in Gansu was a large-scale farm with 5,716 cattle, of which 77 were infected. Emergency responses were launched in both locations, including full lockdown of affected areas, culling of all cattle in the same groups, safe disposal of infected animals, and comprehensive disinfection.
Past cases of consumption of infected meat
In 2023, a family of three in Jiangsu suffered collective diarrhea after consuming meat from a privately slaughtered sick sheep; testing found that the meat contained not only the foot-and-mouth disease virus but also Listeria.
In 2024, a farmer in Shandong slaughtered two pigs infected with foot-and-mouth disease because he was reluctant to discard them; after the family consumed the meat, the couple developed mouth blisters and high fever, while their son developed myocarditis and required hospitalization. Investigations revealed that the pigs were infected not only with foot-and-mouth disease but also carried circovirus.
In 2025, a farmer surnamed Wang in a county in Henan secretly slaughtered three cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease and sold the meat to nearby villagers at 50 percent below market price, resulting in 12 people showing infection symptoms.
In 2022, an outbreak in a certain area of Gansu was traced back to the private slaughter of infected livestock, which led to the lockdown of 10 nearby farms and caused direct economic losses exceeding 10 million yuan.
Concerns over social media
In response, many mainland Chinese netizens have been flooding social media with questions such as: “Is the meat in wet markets still safe to buy?” and “Can eating meat lead to infection?”
Some people also complained: “After messing with people, now they’re messing with cattle.” and “A large-scale outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease! The livestock industry is paralyzed! Cattle are piling up like mountains!”
Users on X (formerly Twitter) have also been actively discussing the issue:
- “Why are there so many outbreaks in China? Foot-and-mouth disease, influenza, COVID-19, hand-foot-and-mouth disease…”
- “Variants of COVID-19 are zoonotic.”
- “We’re going back to the pandemic era.”
- “Banning VPNs can effectively stop the spread of epidemics.”
- “Poor ‘working animals’ (a slang for ordinary people) have it so hard even behind the Great Firewall.”
