The Ministry of National Defense has sent 35 Chemical Corps personnel and 80 troops to help clean and disinfect a hog farm affected by African swine fever (ASF) after viral nucleic acid was detected, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.
Two of 27 samples collected from the ASF-affected farm in Taichung tested positive for the virus on Thursday after the farm had been cleaned and disinfected twice, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Deputy Director-General Du Li-hua (杜麗華) said yesterday.
Thirty-six more samples were collected from the farm on Thursday night, of which three samples were confirmed ASF-positive yesterday, showing that the farm had not been properly cleaned and disinfected, she said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
As ASF viruses can survive for three months in general environments, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) on Thursday asked the defense ministry to help with the cleanup and disinfection of the farm, Du said.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) said 30 personnel arrived at 9:30pm and began to clean the farm at 10:30pm on Thursday, with assistance from 22 personnel of the Taichung City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office and two experts from the Taichung ASF response unit.
Given the massive quantity of pig feces and clutter, 50 more personnel were sent to the farm in the early hours of yesterday to aid the effort, she said, adding that all of the waste would be incinerated.
Thirty-five Chemical Corps personnel are ready to conduct disinfection once the cleanup is finished, she added.
Veterinary Research Institute Director-General Deng Ming-chung (鄧明中) said the first two ASF-positive samples were collected from a swine nursery wall and waterer, while the other three samples confirmed positive yesterday were from the farm’s main entrance, inside a fridge and the steps of a kitchen waste truck.
Asked about the ASF-positive samples sent for viral sequencing and genomic profile matching last week, Deng said that the results showed that they were reassortant ASF virus strains and had similarities of 99.95 percent and 99.92 percent to those from China and Vietnam respectively.
Given virus variation and insufficient data for further comparison, the exact source of the detected viruses could not be ascertained, he said, adding that the strains identified in Taiwan would be submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Environmental Management Administration Deputy Director-General Liu Jui-hsiang (劉瑞祥) said that about 2,100 tonnes of kitchen waste is produced daily, of which 1,700 tonnes would be incinerated or buried.
All kitchen waste landfills are lined with waterproof fabric and would not contaminate nearby farmland or water sources, he said.
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency official Lo Yu-chuan (羅尤娟) said the agency has asked local governments to set up regular or electronic fences around kitchen waste landfills to block wild boars, with automatic cameras installed to monitor boar activity.
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