Pork sausage made in China showed a positive result for African swine fever (ASF), bringing the total number of such cases to 33.
The sausage was tested for ASF after it was found cut into several pieces and thrown out at Taipei Songshan Airport. It is believed that she was delivered to Taiwan by a passenger who flew by air from Hefei city in the Chinese province of Anhui, the Center said.
Samples were sent to the Animal Health Research Institute for Agriculture to check for the presence of gene fragments identical to the sequences of the ASFV virus strain in China. Since October 2018, a total of 33 pork products from China have been confirmed as ASF infected - one in October, two in November, four in December, 11 in January, 11 in February and four in March.
According to data published on the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as of March 15, 113 outbreaks were recorded in 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China, with more than 950,000 pigs eliminated. Taiwan is on high alert, concerned the fact that the spread of the virus from China can hit its pig industry.
