TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan reported its first cases of African swine fever on Wednesday, with authorities culling at least 195 pigs and ordering a ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs islandwide.
The Agriculture Ministry said samples of dead pigs from a farm in the coastal city of Taichung tested positive for African swine fever on Tuesday.
Animal protection and quarantine authorities immediately went to the farm and “preventively euthanized 195 pigs,” the ministry said. Authorities then supervised the cleaning and disinfection of the farm and established a control zone with a radius of 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from the center of the affected farm.
Authorities also ordered a five-day ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs islandwide starting at noon Wednesday.
Taiwan will isolate the virus strain before officially reporting it to the World Organization for Animal Health, Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih said at a news conference.
“However, the isolation of the virus takes two weeks, but we cannot wait,” Chen added. “We must implement the highest standards to prevent and control this suspected case of African swine fever.”
African swine fever, which is almost always fatal to pigs, does not affect humans or other animals outside the pig family.
This is the first case of the virus reported in Taiwan, Chen said. The island prohibits bringing in meat or meat products without proper inspection and quarantine, with fines of up to 1 million Taiwan dollars (about $32,500).
“The most likely transmission route is from outside Taiwan, through the illegal importation of pork products, which ultimately reach pig farms through food waste systems,” Chen added.
In 2019, millions of pigs were slaughtered in China and Vietnam as the virus spread across Asia.
Currently, the only Asian country with a confirmed outbreak of African swine fever is South Korea, according to the World Organization for Animal Health’s October report on the virus situation worldwide. Twelve countries in Europe are also fighting the virus.
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Associated Press video journalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report.