Taiwan reports its first case of African swine fever and culls scores of
pigs
[October 22, 2025]
By SIMINA MISTREANU
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan reported its first cases of African swine
fever on Wednesday and culled at least 195 pigs from the affected farm.
Authorities also ordered a ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs
across the island.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that samples from dead pigs from a farm
in the coastal city of Taichung had tested positive for African swine
fever on Tuesday.
Animal protection and quarantine authorities immediately went to the
farm and “preventively culled 195 pigs,” the ministry said. The
authorities then supervised the cleaning and disinfection of the farm
and established a control zone with a radius of 3 kilometers (1.9 miles)
from its center.
Authorities also ordered a five-day ban on the movement and slaughtering
of pigs across the island, starting at noon on Wednesday.
Taiwan will isolate the virus strain before officially reporting it to
the World Organization of Animal Health, Agriculture Minister Chen
Junne-jih told a news conference.
“Virus isolation takes two weeks, but we can’t wait,” Chen added. “We
must implement the highest standards to prevent and control this
suspected case of African swine fever.”
African swine fever, which is nearly always fatal to swine, does not
affect humans or other animals outside of the pig family.
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 This is Taiwan’s first-ever reported
case of the virus, Chen said. The island prohibits bringing in any
meat or meat products without proper inspection and quarantine, with
fines up to 1 million Taiwan dollars (about $32,500).
“The most likely route of transmission is from outside Taiwan,
through the illegal importation of pork products, which ultimately
find their way to pig farms through food waste systems,” Chen added.
In 2019, millions of pigs were culled in China and Vietnam as the
virus spread through Asia.
Currently, the only Asian country with a confirmed ongoing African
swine fever outbreak is South Korea, according to the World
Organization of Animal Health's October report on the virus
situation worldwide. Twelve countries in Europe are also battling
the virus.
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Associated Press video journalist Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan,
contributed to this report.
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