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Finland detects African swine fever for first time
Authorities set a containment zone after preliminary tests on three dead wild boars returned positive, marking the country’s first detection of the virus.
On Friday, the Ministry of Agriculture prohibited imports of live pigs and pork products from Finland after the country confirmed its first cases of ASF.
The Finnish Food Authority announced on Thursday that preliminary tests confirmed ASF in three wild boar carcasses found in Virolahti, located near Russia.
Harmless to humans, the disease has a mortality rate near 100 per cent in pigs and boars; Taiwan imported 985 metric tons of pork products from Finland this year.
Importers violating the new ban face product destruction or forced returns to Finland, while the MOA urged travelers not to bring pork products into Taiwan.
The Central Emergency Operation Center warned that pork products could still enter Taiwan by mail, threatening its ASF-free status with the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Following the discovery of African swine fever in Finland, the Swedish Farmers' Federation, LRF, is warning that Sweden is at risk of being affected again. “This shows that the infection is in our immediate area and can easily move here,” says Mikaela Johnsson, vice chair of LRF, to TT.