Sausages in an intercepted package from Thailand were confirmed to have the African swine fever virus, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) said on Thursday.
The Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, which oversees the center, said that a package was flagged by a post office in Tainan on Wednesday last week after it was found to contain sausages.
A laboratory test on Friday last week revealed that the meat carried the African swine fever virus.
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine via CNA
The sausages tested positive again in a confirmation test at a bureau laboratory on Wednesday.
It is the first time that African swine fever has been detected in pork products from Thailand, the CEOC said.
Although pork products found in the luggage of a Thai traveler three months ago had been determined to have the virus, it was unclear if the food originated from Thailand, as there was no labeling, and because the person had entered from China, the COA said.
The bureau said that Thailand has yet to report any African swine fever cases to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The intercepted package would be returned to Thailand, with the case reported to the nation’s OIE representative, the center said.
As some of Thailand’s neighbors border China, the CEOC anticipated in a 2019 risk assessment that the virus would eventually make its way to the country through Southeast Asia, it said.
Luggage, express mail and packages arriving from Southeast Asian countries have been subjected to detailed inspections, including with X-rays, upon entry into Taiwan, the bureau said.
Taiwanese should refrain from receiving pork products from other countries, especially considering their popularity during the Lunar New Year period, as packages containing these products must be handed to a bureau-sanctioned agency to be destroyed, the CEOC said.
Under the Act for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例), those who do not comply with regulations could be fined from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, the CEOC said.
The African swine fever pandemic remains a serious concern in Asia, with the virus having been found in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, the Philippines, South Korea, Timor-Leste, South Korea and Vietnam, it added.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS