Officials in Australia have identified the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in six pork products tested under recent routine border checks at Australian airports and mail processing centers as they were about to enter the country.
Two weeks of testing by the Australian Animal Health Laboratory uncovered six pork products among 152 seized and tested that were contaminated with the ASF virus, according to a report in The Weekly Times.
Authorities said the detection of the virus at the border does not change Australia’s ASF-free status, the report added. The nation’s pork producer organization, Australian Pork Ltd. (APL), said the discovery serves as another warning that the threat of ASF spreading to Australia remains serious.
Australia has an estimated 2,500 pig farmers and 36,000 pork supply chain workers, the organization said. APL also asked travelers to respect Australia’s biosecurity protocols and implored producers to continue their vigilance toward biosecurity measures.
ASF outbreaks in China have reached 24 provinces and resulted in the culling of more than 900,000 pigs since August 2018.
Source : Meatingplace