July 22, 2009

Taiwan's animal quarantine authorities confirmed Tuesday (Jul 21) the pen of hogs at a meat market in Hsinchu County had contracted foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Eight of the nine hogs in the pen were discovered on July 13 to have blisters, which is a symptom typical of FMD. The animals were immediately destroyed thereafter.

According to officials at the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ), tests on specimens taken from the hogs confirmed that they had been infected with the FMD virus.

As the hogs were enclosed overnight in the meat market, it was likely that the hogs were infected in the facility, according to the officials.

Following the discovery of FMD, the market was disinfected and further disinfection efforts will be carried out in the coming days when the market is not open for business, the officials added.

They added that quarantine officials had already inspected the farm where the hogs were raised but no anomalies were found there.

Meanwhile, the bureau has restricted the movement of livestock within the farm and has collected specimens for further tests.

Since the beginning of this year, Taiwan has reported sporadic FMD cases on pig farms in several areas of the country.

The cases came at a time as Taiwan is working toward the goal of being listed as a fully FMD-free country following recognition by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as an "FMD-free country with vaccination" due to its efforts to eliminate the disease over the past decade.