Taiwan reports its first case of African swine fever and culls scores of pigs

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan reported its first cases of African swine fever on Wednesday and culled at least 195 pigs from the affected farm. Authorities also ordered a ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs across the island.

The Ministry of Agriculture said that samples from dead pigs from a farm in the coastal city of Taichung had tested positive for African swine fever on Tuesday.

Animal protection and quarantine authorities immediately went to the farm and “preventively culled 195 pigs,” the ministry said. The authorities then supervised the cleaning and disinfection of the farm and established a control zone with a radius of 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from its center.

Authorities also ordered a five-day ban on the movement and slaughtering of pigs across the island, starting at noon on Wednesday.

Taiwan will isolate the virus strain before officially reporting it to the World Organization of Animal Health, Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih told a news conference.

“Virus isolation takes two weeks, but we can’t wait,” Chen added. “We must implement the highest standards to prevent and control this suspected case of African swine fever.”

African swine fever, which is nearly always fatal to swine, does not affect humans or other animals outside of the pig family.

This is Taiwan’s first-ever reported case of the virus, Chen said. The island prohibits bringing in any meat or meat products without proper inspection and quarantine, with fines up to 1 million Taiwan dollars (about $32,500).

“The most likely route of transmission is from outside Taiwan, through the illegal importation of pork products, which ultimately find their way to pig farms through food waste systems,” Chen added.

In 2019, millions of pigs were culled in China and Vietnam as the virus spread through Asia.

Currently, the only Asian country with a confirmed ongoing African swine fever outbreak is South Korea, according to the World Organization of Animal Health's October report on the virus situation worldwide. Twelve countries in Europe are also battling the virus.

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Associated Press video journalist Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.