There at least 13 countries so far that intend to stop importing pork from Belgium after the deadly African Swine Fever outbreak was confirmed in the country. These include Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Belarus, Philippines, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Singapore, Serbia, Uruguay, and Malaysia.
African Swine Fever is not dangerous to humans but the virus proved to be deadly to animals as there is no available vaccine that could stop them from spreading. The virus can jump from pigs to pigs through direct contact. It is not yet known exactly how it spread from one country to another.
The virus can live in pork products and dried hams for four months. It can thrive forever in infected pig carcasses as long as they remained in frozen condition.
In New Zealand, pig herders are demanding for the local government to halt pork products that are coming from Belgium to safeguard the country's pork industry. New Zealand's pork industry is currently worth $750 million a year and pig farmers are not going to take the risk of having the virus infect their local pork producers.
New Zealand has been importing fresh pork from European countries that include Belgium, Poland, Estonia, and Italy.
On Tuesday, European Union Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan called member states to implement a tougher strategy to contain the spread of African Swine Fever. He said that the outbreak started in the Baltic States before spreading to Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic before jumping to Belgium. Hogan said a total of nine EU member states have been hit by the virus so far.
The commissioner said the deadly outbreak could threaten EU's pork industry, including as much as 15,000 jobs.
Hogan recognized Belgium's prompt response to contain the spread of the virus by culling up to 4,000 pigs and placing a region in the country under quarantine. He, nevertheless, called for a strategy that will have farmers compensated, partly by Belgium and partly by Europe while all efforts are being done to stop the virus from further infecting more domestic pigs.
Meanwhile, China has confirmed a new case of an outbreak in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Officials said four pigs were infected and two died from the African Swine Fever.
A research from scientists at China's Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology in Qingdao recommended feeding the pigs with vegetables to keep them healthy and resilient against the virus. Pigs can be fed with cauliflower, cabbage, and rapeseed.
The scientists, led by Wang Xin, said the group found a yet to be identified molecule found in plants that could deactivate the enzyme that African Swine Fever used to reproduce. Xin said feeding pigs with these vegetables may save the whole pork industry from the epidemic.
