The government has suspended the export of pigs and pork products from Kinmen County for at least one week after another two dead pigs that drifted to the outlying county close to China tested positive for African swine fever.
The two carcasses were found on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the polymerase chain reaction test of samples from them revealed they had been infected with the virus, the African Swine Fever Response Center said.
To prevent an outbreak of African swine fever in Taiwan proper, Kinmen County would be banned from exporting its pigs and pork products to Taiwan’s mainland and other outlying islands under Taiwan’s jurisdiction for at least a week, the center said.
Photo provided by Kinmen County Government
However, seven companies in Kinmen that passed the government’s inspections could still sell their products to Taiwan proper and nearby outlying islands, it added.
The seven companies were the only ones to have been thoroughly inspected over the years, said Hsu Jung-pin (徐榮彬), a senior Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine official.
They have the necessary facilities to heat swill before it is fed to pigs, Hsu said.
Swill must be heated to 90°C for 60 minutes to kill bacteria before it is fed to pigs.
The other businesses, ranging from pig farms to local snack companies that use pork products, have either not been thoroughly inspected or have not applied for inspections, Hsu said.
The areas where the two dead pigs were found have been disinfected by the Kinmen Animal and Plant Disease Control Center and four pig farms nearby have been inspected by veterinarians. No live pigs tested positive for the African swine fever virus.
Since December last year, 10 pig carcasses that washed up on Kinmen, possibly from China, have tested positive for the virus.
Following repeated incidents of floating pig carcasses, the Ocean Affairs Council told Beijing to “get your pigs in order,” in a Facebook post yesterday, repeating the sentence three times.
There have been more than 100 recorded cases of dead pigs washing up on the nation’s shores “from the west [of Taiwan],” and the carcasses tested positive for African swine fever in 10 of those cases, the council’s Facebook post said.
“When will this day-and-night swine fever assault end? is it accidental or deliberate? Why does it keep coming?” it asked.
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