President Lai urges vigilance after pig carcass tests positive for ASF

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has asked government agencies to remain vigilant and keep Taiwan free from African swine fever (ASF), after a pig carcass found on a beach in offshore Kinmen County tested positive for the highly contagious disease.

In a social media post, Lai said he has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies to implement quarantine, surveillance and control measures, make sure interagency reporting and response mechanisms are functioning properly, and keep the public informed to safeguard Taiwan's pig farming industry.

The carcass was discovered on Tuesday after it had apparently drifted onto the beach, and county authorities immediately took a sample for testing, which yielded a positive result for ASF, Lai said.

The county, located less than 10 kilometers off China's coast, immediately incinerated and buried the carcass, disinfected the site, and suspended shipments of pork and processed pork products from Kinmen to the main island of Taiwan and other offshore islands, he said.

A subsequent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test also confirmed the carcass was positive for ASF, making it the 21st ASF-positive pig carcass found washed ashore since 2018, he said.

At the same time, Lai said, the Coast Guard Administration has stepped up coastal patrols and anti-smuggling operations, while the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency has strengthened border quarantine measures.

The Kinmen County Animal and Plant Disease Control Center has also completed health inspections of nearby pig farms and confirmed that all pigs are in good health, he said.

In April, the World Organisation for Animal Health officially approved Taiwan's self-declaration as an ASF-free area, which Lai said reflected the country's extensive disease prevention experience and expertise.