On July 14, Taiwan’s Kinmen discovered the washed-up carcass of a pig, confirmed to be African swine fever positive. President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China demanded on the 16th to ensure that all epidemic prevention measures are fully implemented to safeguard Taiwan’s pig farming industry and hard-won achievements in epidemic prevention.
President Tsai posted on Facebook on the 16th, stating that in April of this year, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) officially approved Taiwan’s return to the list of countries free from African swine fever. This achievement is the result of long-term accumulation of epidemic prevention systems, professional capabilities, and the joint efforts of the central and local governments and the entire populace.
President Tsai emphasized that the African swine fever epidemic in the Asian region remains severe. Faced with external risks, Taiwan must maintain a high level of vigilance, guarding every defense line through border quarantine, coastal patrols, examination of washed-up pigs, monitoring of domestic pig farms, and other measures.
On July 14, a washed-up pig carcass was found on a beach in Kinmen. President Tsai stated that relevant central and local units promptly completed sampling and testing in accordance with epidemic prevention mechanisms, confirming the presence of African swine fever virus nucleic acid, and immediately initiated measures such as cremation and burial of the carcass, on-site disinfection, and movement control in response.
He mentioned that the results of further real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) testing confirmed the positivity of African swine fever. This is the 21st case of washed-up pigs confirmed to have African swine fever since 2018.
President Tsai informed that the Coast Guard Administration has strengthened coastal patrols and crackdowns on smuggling, and the Quarantine Bureau has enhanced border quarantine measures. The Kinmen County Epidemic Prevention Office has completed health inspections of surrounding pig farms, confirming that the current health status of the pigs is good. Meanwhile, the government has temporarily suspended the export of Kinmen pork and processed products to Taiwan Island and other outlying islands, and continues virus genetic sequence analysis and subsequent epidemic monitoring.
President Tsai stressed that he has also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant departments to closely monitor the development of the epidemic, maintain cross-agency notification and response mechanisms, implement every quarantine, surveillance, and control measure, and promptly update the public on the latest situation to ensure that all epidemic prevention measures are fully implemented, thereby safeguarding Taiwan’s pig farming industry and hard-won achievements in epidemic prevention.
The Premier of the Republic of China, Su Tseng-chang, posted on Facebook, stating that in the face of epidemic threats, upon confirming the positivity of African swine fever, the government has immediately activated the strictest cross-agency defense line.
Firstly, the Coast Guard has been asked to strengthen inspections to prevent smuggling, and the Kaohsiung Sub-Bureau of the Quarantine Bureau has intensified border quarantine work in Kinmen.
Secondly, immediate investigation and containment measures have been taken, with the Kinmen County Epidemic Prevention Office conducting visits to 25 pig farms within a 10-kilometer radius of the washed-up pig case, confirming that all pigs are in good health.
Thirdly, the government is transparent in information disclosure, with veterinary offices currently conducting virus sequence analysis. The relevant test results and epidemic information will be fully disclosed to the public and media in a timely manner.
Fourthly, to comprehensively prevent transmission, the government will announce a ban on Kinmen pork and processed meat products from being exported to Taiwan Island and other outlying islands for one week.
Premier Su emphasized that Taiwan will absolutely not tolerate any loopholes in preventing African swine fever. Epidemic prevention is viewed as a battle, and the government’s cross-agency team is fully committed to safeguarding Taiwan’s domestically produced pork safety with the highest efficiency and transparency in every aspect from discovery, testing to initiating controls.