#13,797
A little over two weeks ago, in ASF: When Pigs Float, we looked at reports from Taiwan's BAPHIQ (Bureau of Animal Plant Health Inspection & Quarantine) of a pig carcass recovered on a beach in the Quemoy island group that tested positive for the African Swine Fever virus.
Although Taiwan sits between 60 and 90 miles off the Chinese mainland, the Republic of China does exercise political control over several groups of (many uninhabited) islands (Kinmen, Wuqiu & Matsu) that lie much closer to the mainland (see map above).The dead pig, it was assumed, has drifted from the mainland. While nearby Fujian province had reported two outbreaks of ASF in December (in Nanping and in Youxi County), both were located more than 100 miles north, and well inland, from where these pig carcasses have appeared.
A second pig carcass was retrieved by Taiwan's Coast Guard, but a positive test was not returned, possibly due to its decomposed condition.This nonetheless set off a political row between Taiwan and the Mainland over ASF, and raised concerns that pig farmers were dumping diseased pigs into the rivers or oceans rather than reporting them.
As noted previously in this blog, China's farmers have - on occasion - resorted to the clandestine dumping of diseased livestock into rivers and lakes rather than reporting outbreaks to local officials.
- In February 2016 several badly decomposed chicken carcasses were found on local beaches of Hong Kong (presumably dumped upstream the Pearl River in Guangdong Province) that tested positive for the avian H5 virus (see Hong Kong: Another H5N6 Positive Chicken Carcass).
- In previous years (2009-2012) we'd seen numerous similar reports - albeit with the H5N1 virus - of badly decomposed poultry carcasses washing up on the beaches of Hong Kong.
- But perhaps most famously, in 2013 - in Shanghai Govt.: Thousands Of Dead Pigs Retrieved From River - we saw reports of as many as 3,000 pig carcasses dumped in the Huangpu river - a tributary of the Yangtze - that provides many of the 23 million residents of Shanghai with their drinking water.
China's MOA reported in late December on a large outbreak of ASF in Nanping, Fujian Province, which lies almost a hundred miles inland. Nanping, however, sits along the Minjiang River, which outflows very near the Matsu islands.The $64 dollar question being whether this pig came from that reported outbreak, or if additional (and as yet, unreported) outbreaks are still occurring the region.
Chinese mainland sea drift Lianjiang pigs, detected African porcine virus DNA positive
The Central Hunger Disaster Response Center (Strain Center) of Africa has said that on January 17, a dead pig that drifted ashore was found on the shore of the Rhino Island (uninhabited island) in Dongjiang County, Lianjiang County. The Industrial Development Department sent a sample of the staff and sent it to the Animal Health Laboratory of the Agricultural Committee (the Animal Husbandry Institute) for testing.
The nucleic acid of the African swine fever virus was detected positively today, and the gene fragment was 100% similar to the isolate strain from mainland China. There is no pig farm in the area, and the pigs should be drifted from mainland China according to the geographical location.
The Strain Center stated that the Industrial Development Department of Lianjiang County Government received a notice from the Mazu patrol area of the Sea patrol department on Thursday, and found a dead pig on the shore of Rhino Island in Dongguang Island, Shuguang Township. The rushed to the scene to learn about the collection. After the examination, the pigs were burned and buried on the spot, and the samples were sent to the animal husbandry for inspection. The relevant samples were detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the results showed that the African swine fever virus nucleic acid was positive, and the gene fragment sequence was 100% similar to the genetic fragment of the African swine fever virus strain in mainland China. The strain center added that the location of the dead pigs has been completely disinfected by the Industrial Development Department of Lianjiang County Government. There is no pig farm in the whole town.
The Strain Center pointed out that according to the return of the Industrial Development Department of the Lianjiang County Government, there was no abnormal death in the pigs in the county, and the veterinarians continued to pay close attention to the dynamics of the farms within the jurisdiction. In addition, this pig was found around the estuary of the Minjiang River in Fujian Province, China, and the southern part of the city of Nanping had an outbreak of African swine fever. The comprehensive decision was made and should be drifted from mainland China.
In response to this case, the Lianjiang County Government has implemented disinfection measures for the personnel, vehicles, equipment and areas in contact with the pigs. The Agriculture and Municipal Protection Bureau will also follow the cross-strait epidemic prevention notification mechanism to inform the mainland of China to request internal control. The pig industry is working on the body of the pig. The Strain Center said that this operation was carried out through the 11th patrol area, the 10th sea patrol team, the first 0 shore patrol team, the army horse command post and the Lianjiang County Government Fire Bureau, the Environmental Protection Bureau, and the production of the Golden Horse Department. The Development and Prevention Committee of the Agriculture Committee jointly launched an inter-departmental meeting to cooperate and quickly implement various epidemic prevention work.
In addition, when the Director of the Executive Yuan visited the Taoyuan Airport on the 14th, he instructed the border inspection agency to check the hand luggage of the passengers in the high-risk area by 100%. The Strain Center stated that the Aviation Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior has dispatched personnel from the 16th. Taoyuan International Airport conducts flights from high-risk areas (China, Hong Kong, Macao), and passengers step out at the boarding gates of the empty bridges to conduct manual inspections of hand luggage. The Bureau of Inspection and Quarantine also sends quarantine colleagues to assist in the destruction of passengers. Animal and plant products, according to statistics, the amount of animal products destroyed 22.7 kg on the 16th, 8.5 kg on the 17th, 19 kg on the 18th, a total of 50.2 kg destroyed.
The Strain Center said that the measures taken by the Airport Police Station to check passengers' hand luggage at the downtime station, although delaying the customs clearance time, also achieved the effectiveness of the publicity, and abandoned the illegal quarantine objects early to avoid heavy penalties when passengers passed the Custom Green Line. In order to stop the invasion of African swine fever, we also ask passengers to cooperate more and do our best to prevent epidemics.
