Taiwan has been declared free of African swine fever (ASF), bringing the nation one step closer to being the only place in Asia unaffected by the three major swine diseases.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) yesterday formally approved Taiwan’s application to be declared ASF-free, submitted in July, the Ministry of Agriculture said today.
It is now the second nation in East Asia to be granted the status after Japan.
Photo: Taipei Times
If the WOAH approves Taiwan’s application to be declared free of classical swine fever in May next year as hoped, it is to be the first in Asia to be officially free of the three major swine diseases: foot-and-mouth disease, ASF and classical swine fever.
Taiwan was removed from the WOAH list of areas affected by foot-and-mouth disease in 2020.
The status would have significant implications for the nation’s pork industry by opening new export market opportunities and easing the burden of vaccinations on farmers, the ministry said.
Taiwan-produced pigs and fresh pork can already be exported to the Philippines, and talks are underway with Singapore and Malaysia to permit the import of fresh pork, the ministry said.
After a global outbreak of ASF in 2018, Taiwan established a response center dedicated to preventing its spread, the ministry said.
Through stringent border inspections, treatment of food waste and swift disposal of infected pigs, the nation was able to contain the disease both in farms and in the wild, it said.
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