China’s Ministry of Agriculture has reported outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Gansu Province, tracing the virus to its northwest border with Russia, Central Asian states, and Mongolia, according to Reuters.
The outbreak involves a strain never before seen in China. Officials warn that the virus spreads easily. Domestic vaccines are failing to protect herds and mortality among young animals exceeds 50%.
The outbreak threatens to disrupt pork, beef, and mutton production across western China, Russia, and Central Asia. Russian authorities have reportedly been battling a major outbreak of FMD in the Urals and Siberia since early 2026. Officials there are accused of concealing the epidemic to preserve the country’s FMD-free status and maintain export revenues.
This lack of transparency has hindered containment, allowing the disease to spread into Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
Regional responses and containment efforts
Kazakhstan has banned cattle, meat, and feed imports from the Russian Federation and is vaccinating all cattle in border regions.
Officials in Xinjiang and Gansu are intensifying herd monitoring in affected provinces, and may follow Kazakhstan’s example by temporarily halting meat and feed imports.
Reports indicate that the outbreak originated around Novosibirsk, Russia, and is spreading south into Central Asia, east into China, and west into European Russia.
Russian efforts to contain the epidemic reportedly include quarantining and culling of herds.