President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday asked government agencies to remain vigilant and keep Taiwan free from African swine fever (ASF), after a pig carcass found on a beach in Kinmen County tested positive for the highly contagious disease.
In a social media post, Lai said he has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies to implement quarantine, surveillance and control measures, make sure interagency reporting and response mechanisms are functioning properly, and keep the public informed to safeguard Taiwan’s pig farming industry.
The carcass was discovered on Tuesday after it had apparently drifted onto the beach.
Photo courtesy of the Kinmen County Government
County authorities immediately took a sample for testing, which yielded a positive result for ASF, Lai said.
The county, located less than 10km off China’s coast, immediately incinerated and buried the carcass, disinfected the site, and suspended shipments of pork and processed pork products from Kinmen to Taiwan proper and other offshore islands, he said.
A subsequent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction test also confirmed that the carcass was positive for ASF, making it the 21st ASF-positive pig carcass found washed ashore since 2018, he said.
The Coast Guard Administration has also stepped up coastal patrols and anti-smuggling operations, while the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency has strengthened border quarantine measures, Lai said.
The Kinmen County Animal and Plant Disease Control Center has also completed health inspections of nearby pig farms and confirmed that all pigs are in good health, he said.
In April, the World Organization for Animal Health approved Taiwan’s self-declaration as an ASF-free area, which Lai said reflected the nation’s extensive disease prevention experience and expertise.
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