Variant Virus Detected in Passenger Baggage Snacks... '100% Fatality Rate'

ASF Variant Virus Detected in Pork Meat Products
Import Ban Since 2018, but Multiple Violations Reported

Taiwanese authorities have discovered a mutated strain of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, which has a 100% fatality rate, in the checked baggage of passengers arriving from China, according to Taiwanese media such as Liberty Times on the 19th.

According to the report, the Veterinary Research Institute of Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture confirmed this during an inspection of pork products found in the carry-on luggage of passengers arriving from China the previous day.

Mani announced that it detected snack meat products (photo above) in the carry-on luggage of a passenger from China, conducted an inspection, and discovered a variant of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.
[Photo by Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Research Institute]

Two types of viruses were detected in the pork products: the genotype II African Swine Fever virus that has been prevalent since 2018, and a new recombinant virus variant.

Deng Mingzhong, director of the Veterinary Research Institute, explained, "The mutated virus has been found again in China since last year and has been detected in several regions including Jiangsu Province, Henan Province, and Inner Mongolia." He added, "In particular, the mutated virus is understood to have a high degree of transmissibility."

He further warned, "If the mutated virus spreads to neighboring countries in Asia, another African Swine Fever pandemic could occur."

There Have Been 1,733 Attempts to Illegally Import Pork Products into Taiwan This Year Alone

African swine fever, which does not infect humans and occurs only in pigs, is a viral first-class livestock infectious disease with a fatality rate of up to 100%, making it deadly, but there is currently no preventive vaccine.
[Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@]

The reason Taiwanese authorities inspect pork products is that since 2018, passengers arriving from countries where African Swine Fever has occurred are prohibited from carrying pork products into Taiwan. China is included among the countries from which pork products cannot be brought into Taiwan.

However, violations of this regulation remain frequent.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Research Institute, as of the 15th of this year, there have been 1,733 attempts to illegally import pork products, of which 1,374 cases (79.9%) involved products from China. Notably, the inspection results showed a 12.4% positivity rate for African Swine Fever, indicating a serious level of contamination.

African Swine Fever, which does not infect humans but only affects pigs, is a viral first-class livestock infectious disease with a fatality rate of 100%, and there is currently no preventive vaccine.

Due to the lack of an effective vaccine, countries can only respond to outbreaks of African Swine Fever by culling livestock and controlling movement. According to statistics from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in September, since January 2021, 1.5 million animals have died or been culled due to African Swine Fever.

In China, the largest consumer and producer of pork, African Swine Fever outbreaks from 2018 to 2020 caused enormous damage to farms and led to a sharp rise in pork prices.

Chinese Authorities Do Not Disclose Information Despite African Swine Fever Spread

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Central News Agency criticized on the 20th that although African Swine Fever with a 100% fatality rate is spreading in China, the authorities are not disclosing related information.

According to the report, African Swine Fever began to break out in northern China in April and has gradually spread to central and southern regions.

However, the Central News Agency reported that the 'Epidemic Announcement' site of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has not disclosed any confirmed cases of African Swine Fever to date.

In fact, the 'Monthly National Major Animal Disease Statistics' regularly published since May 26 only occasionally report cases of Classical Swine Fever, classified as a second-class livestock infectious disease, but have not disclosed any cases of African Swine Fever, which is classified as a first-class livestock infectious disease.

The Central News Agency speculated that the reason Chinese authorities are downplaying the spread of African Swine Fever may be an attempt to stabilize pork prices, which have a significant impact on consumer prices.

The agency pointed out, "With consumption sluggish due to the overall economic downturn and pork prices already plummeting, the emergence of African Swine Fever issues could negatively affect not only the pig farming industry but also the broader Chinese economy, which is under deflationary pressure (deflation: falling prices during economic recession)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.