Taiwan has become the latest Asian country to report its first suspected case of African swine fever (ASF).
The country’s Ministry of Agriculture announced on October 22 that samples from dead pigs from a farm Taichung, on the west coast, had tested positive for the virus, AP reported.
Animal protection authorities ‘preventively culled’ 195 pigs, before supervising the cleaning and disinfection of the farm and establishing a 3km control zone around it. The authorities also ordered a five-day ban on the movement and slaughtering of pigs across the island, the ministry said.
Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih told journalistsTaiwan will isolate the virus strain before officially reporting it to the World Organization of Animal Health, but said would take two weeks. “But we can’t wait. We must implement the highest standards to prevent and control this suspected case of ASF
He suggested the most likely route of transmission was ‘from outside Taiwan, through the illegal importation of pork products, which ultimately find their way to pig farms through food waste systems’.
Taiwan currently bans any meat products imported without proper inspection and quarantine, with fines up to 1 million Taiwan dollars (about $32,500), AP reported.
While ASF has spread far and wide in Asia since 2018, Korea was the only Asian country to report an outbreak in September, according to the World Organization of Animal Health’s latest report.