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.
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