Taiwan’s traditional swine fever vaccination program has reached its one-year mark, and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China announced today that it will apply to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to become a swine fever-free country. If the application is approved, Taiwan has the opportunity to become the first and only country in Asia to be designated as a “non-epidemic area for the three major swine diseases” in 2025.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China issued a press release stating that Taiwan’s comprehensive swine fever vaccination program has reached the one-year milestone. The Ministry will apply to the World Organization for Animal Health to be recognized as a swine fever-free country. This is a significant milestone for Taiwan’s pig farming industry, having successfully eradicated and prevented foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and swine fever, which are the three major swine diseases.
Swine fever is classified as a Class A infectious disease in the Republic of China and is listed by WOAH as a disease that must be reported. It can cause systemic bleeding and high mortality rates in pigs and is highly contagious. Countries in the Asian region have been threatened by swine fever epidemics. Since the last confirmed case of swine fever in Changhua County in 2005, no further cases have been found in Taiwan.
In order to progress towards becoming a country free of major epidemic diseases, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that by eliminating swine fever, Taiwan aims to expand the international market for high-quality pork products, promote industry development, and move towards the goal of eradicating swine fever in the Republic of China. To achieve the ultimate goal of eradicating swine fever, the Ministry of Agriculture has outlined a three-stage plan:
Stage One: From 2021 to 2022, implementing comprehensive vaccination, environmental risk monitoring, and industry communication.
Stage Two: From 2022 to June 2024, continuing epidemic risk monitoring and gradually transitioning to the evaluation stage of ceasing swine fever vaccinations.
Stage Three: Starting from July 2024, applying to WOAH to be designated as a “swine fever-free country.”
The Ministry of Agriculture explained that since 2021, various monitoring mechanisms have been activated (including phased cessation of swine fever vaccinations, sentinel pig testing, culling of breeding pigs at slaughterhouses, disposal of wild and abandoned pigs, and slaughterhouse hygiene inspections), and no swine fever viruses have been found or detected in the wild. The risk of domestic swine fever occurrence and spread is judged to be extremely low. After expert evaluation, the measure to stop administering swine fever vaccines in 2023 was implemented in two phases.
Starting from January 1, 2023, except for breeding pigs, pigs ceased to be vaccinated. After expert assessment deemed the risk acceptable, on July 1 of the same year, all domestic pigs stopped receiving swine fever vaccinations. Now, it has been one year since all pigs in our country have stopped receiving swine fever vaccinations, and through rigorous monitoring, no signs of activity of wild swine fever virus strains have been detected. Taiwan meets the requirements for applying as a “swine fever-free country,” as listed in the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
The Ministry of Agriculture stated that if successfully designated as a swine fever-free country, Taiwan can reduce labor and vaccine procurement costs in pig farms, lower the losses caused by vaccination stress and side effects, effectively reduce the cost of raising pigs, significantly enhance the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s pigs and pork products, and demonstrate the successful disease prevention achievements in Taiwan’s significant animal health field.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture elaborated that to assist the pig farming industry in coping with the challenges and impacts of trade liberalization, they have been guiding pig farms to upgrade and implement slaughterhouse HACCP certification since 2021, continuously strengthening the overall resilience of the pig farming industry. The Ministry of Agriculture is actively engaging in consultations and negotiations with target market countries, aiming to expand more export markets, promote awareness of Taiwan’s fresh pork and processed pork products among consumers in various countries, increase domestic pig farmers’ income, and ensure the sustainable development of the pig farming industry.