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African Swine Fever continues to spread across Asia, and while China claims to have their epidemic under control - only admitting to a little over 1.1 million pigs lost - the evidence suggests their losses are more than 100 times greater, and getting worse (see Feedstuff's report Hog losses in China intentionally underreported).
Getting accurate information out of China is always difficult, but in the middle of a trade war, they treat bad economic news like a national security issue.Although carried by pigs (wild or domestic), and by some tick species, African Swine Fever can also be transported over long distances via contaminated pork products, animal feed, or bedding material.
The virus can live for months in frozen, or smoked, meats and airports around the globe are constantly alert for people bringing pork products in from ASF affected regions.
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Over the past year, Taiwan has confiscated more than 130 Chinese and Vietnamese ASF-positive pork products at their international airport, and we've seen similar (albeit lower numbers) reported from Japan, South Korea, and Japan.
As more and more Asian nations report outbreaks, Taiwan has increased their surveillance, targeting luggage inspection of travelers from Myanmar, China, Russia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, North Korea and South Korea.
With the traditional `Moon Cake' mid-Autumn festival a week away - a time when people tend to travel home often carrying food items - Taiwan is adding three more nations to that watch list; Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia.While not all of these nations have officially reported ASF, last winter Taiwan intercepted ASF-positive food items from Vietnam more than a week before they announced their first outbreak.
This announcement today from Taiwan's BAPHIQ.
In response to African swine fever spread of the epidemic in Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei Travelers comprehensive inspection of hand luggage
African swine fever Central Disaster Response Center today (5), said that the recent outbreak of African swine fever was no stop in Asia, still continues to spread in China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar are new cases, there is a need to strengthen border control. Currently Taoyuan airport immigration because more passengers, in addition to checked baggage has been fully checked, but for the hand luggage from high-risk areas (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the Philippines) of the passenger, X-ray examination by the Executive hundred percent anti inspection Bureau.
In response to this wave of international outbreaks, Prevention and Quarantine Bureau Decision shall at 0:00 on the 6th, the new Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei and other Asian countries for the four high-risk countries, in Taoyuan airport for travelers from the four countries, be a hundred percent hand luggage X-rayed, covering all direct flights in Southeast Asia; all other airports already arriving passengers checked baggage and hand luggage, checked by the customs Department X-ray machines and prevention and quarantine Bureau of quarantine dogs.
Response Center said that the current implementation of Taoyuan airport 12 countries and regions direct visitors to Taiwan hundred percent hand luggage X-rayed, is expected to join from tomorrow midnight Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei and other four countries, the current configuration of 16 X-ray machine and human duty, still enough to cope. Response Center further said that although the above four countries No African swine fever epidemic, but for the prevention ahead of the deployment, appealed to travelers to fully cooperate, Fangdu disease invasion.
Next week is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a special appeal Response Center, On the occasion of the epidemic in Asia and diffusion time, the relevant department will have to make preparations to ensure that prevention is not closing, they call for people not to bring meat home, especially with meat moon cake, so as not to suffer heavy penalties, people do not try.
Contact Person: Animal Quarantine Inspection Bureau deputy director of the anti-high-Lin Huang Tel: 0223431422
2019-09-05
We looked at the ASF situation in Eastern and Central Europe in July in UK DEFRA: Updated Outbreak Assessment (#02) African Swine fever in Europe.
Last May, in USDA Enhances Domestic ASF Surveillance Efforts, we looked at plans for enhanced testing and surveillance for ASF in American pigs, in hopes of detecting - and stamping out - any infections as early as possible.The USDA also recently released a 28-page ASF response plan, in the event the virus turns up on American soil.
One of the realities of our highly mobile and interconnected 21st century is the ease by which both human and agricultural diseases can spread. Oceans and extended travel times no longer protect us as they once did.While we tend to worry most about human diseases, agricultural diseases - like bird flu, swine fever, and FMD - can inflict crippling economic blows.
Add in crop failures due to increasing climate instability, and you have the ingredients for seeing increased food insecurity - and political instability - around the globe.And that can have can have every bit as much impact on human health as a pandemic.
