The traditional swine fever starts to pull out the needle on New Year's Day.

(file photo)

[Reporter Yang Yuanting/Report from Taipei] Following my country's success in becoming a foot-and-mouth disease-free area in 2020, Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, announced yesterday that starting from New Year's Day, all pigs other than breeding pigs will be completely suspended from vaccination against swine fever. From June to July 2024, all pigs will be needled. An application for a disease-free area will be submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). If it goes well, my country will become the only country in Asia that is free of disease areas.

Taiwan was a swine fever area during the Japanese occupation period, and the incidence rate in 1948 was as high as 81.

3%. In 1958, the swine fever vaccine was developed by itself and injections were fully implemented. The epidemic was brought under control. After 2006, there were no cases.

Du Wenzhen, director of the Bureau of Prevention and Inspection, said that since 2021, the Council of Agriculture has launched the traditional swine fever needle extraction plan, launched sentinel pig experiments, eliminated breeding pigs in slaughterhouses, monitored dead pigs and wild boars in chemical production plants and discarded dead pigs, The swine fever virus was not found or detected in the slaughtering hygiene inspection, etc. It was judged that the risk of domestic transmission was low, and the swine fever needles were pulled out one after another since New Year's Day.

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Huang Jincheng, deputy chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said that the suspension of vaccination can reduce manpower and vaccine costs, with an estimated annual saving of 700 million yuan, which will improve the competitiveness of Taiwan's pork.