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| Credit BAPHIQ |
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Yesterday, in Taiwan BAPHIQ: Ramping Up Patrols For `Sea Drift' & Abandoned Pig Carcasses, we looked at BAPHIQ's response to numerous dead pigs washing up onto the beaches of Taiwanese islands over the past few months, 7 of which had tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF).
Today Taiwan's BAPHIQ (Bureau of Animal Plant Health Inspection & Quarantine) reports the discovery of an 8th ASF-positive carcass, washed up on Shishan Beach in Jinsha Town, Jinmen County.
Dead pigs have been turning up on Taiwan's beaches since late December (see ASF: When Pigs Float.. These carcasses appear to have been dumped into rivers and streams in Fujian Province, and carried out to sea.
Fujian Province, however, hasn't officially reported an outbreak of African Swine Fever since December 24th, 2018 and China's MOA officially lifted their blockade on the movement of pigs on February 6th.
The disconnect between what we see, and what China officially reports on their ASF crisis, continues to broaden.According to the latest FAO Report, China has reported the loss of just over a million pigs, but some some organizations - including the FAO's Food Outlook Report - estimate China's losses closer to 20%; roughly 80 to 100 million pigs.
A Rabobank Research report released in April estimated that between 150-200 million Chinese pigs have already been lost to ASF, and that China's pig production will drop 30% in 2019. Other estimates (see ASF China: Global agribusiness suffers; estimates vary) propose even greater losses.
Between infected pig carcasses washing up on their shores, and travelers from Mainland China (and Vietnam) bringing undeclared food items into the country (see ASF: Taiwan Plays Hardball Over Undeclared Pork Products), Taiwan finds itself in a daily battle to keep the virus out of their country.While their close proximity to China and Southeast Asia increases their risks, ASF is perfectly capable of crossing oceans on airlines or container ships, which puts just about every pork producing country at risk (see USDA Enhances Domestic ASF Surveillance Efforts).
Hailuo Jinmen pigs detected the positive detection of African swine fever virus nucleic acid, and continued to strengthen border control and epidemic prevention measures.
The Central Hunger Disaster Response Center (Strain Center) of Africa has said that on May 21, a dead pig that drifted ashore was found on Shishan Beach in Jinsha Town, Jinmen County, and was sent by the Jinmen County Animal and Plant Epidemic Prevention Institute (Golden Door Epidemic Prevention).
The staff sampled and sent it to the Animal Husbandry Health Laboratory of the COA (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.
According to the geographical location, the pig should only drift from mainland China. At present, there are 8 cases of positive detection of African swine fever virus nucleic acid in Haipeng pigs (6 cases in Jinmen County and 2 cases in Lianjiang County).
According to the Strain Center, the Golden Gate Epidemic Prevention Office received a notice from the Jinsha Sub-division and the Haimao Branch of the Sea Guard Office on May 21, and found a dead pig in Shishan Beach, Jinsha Town. The station rushed to the scene to learn about the collection of relevant samples. Only the body was burned and buried on the spot, and the body was 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 had been completely disinfected by the Golden Gate Epidemic Prevention Center. Four pig farms were found within a radius of 3 km. The clinics were performed by the veterinarians of the public office. The health condition was good, no abnormal situation, and mobile control was implemented. And sampling monitoring.
In order to ensure the overall safety of the industry, the Jinmen County pigs and their products will be suspended for Taiwan and other outlying islands for at least one week, but the dried pork and pork pine produced by the seven companies that have been checked and passed can still be exported to Taiwan Island and other outlying islands.
The Strain Center pointed out that Jinmen County is close to the Jiulong River exit of Fujian Province in Fujian Province, and it should be drifted from mainland China. In response to this case, disinfection measures have been carried out for persons, vehicles, equipment and areas in contact with the pig.
According to the Strain Center, in the international and Asian epidemic, 32 countries in Africa and 17 countries in Europe have notified the World Organisation for Animal Health of the African swine fever epidemic; Asia has an outbreak in four countries including China, Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia. All provinces and municipalities have been reduced to epidemic areas, with 137 cases, Mongolia with 7 provinces and 11 cases, Vietnam with 30 provinces and 2,332 cases, and Cambodia with 1 province and 7 cases, which will continue to strengthen border checkpoints.
The Strain Center appeals to the public not to bring meat products into the country, nor to buy foreign meat products for delivery to Taiwan. Those who violate the law will be severely punished. Do not try to test the law. They also urge domestic relevant industry to do a good job in self-defense and epidemic prevention and improve bio-security measures.