Removal from the OIE’s list means that Taiwan would be able to export fresh pork products once again. Taiwan had been free of foot-and-mouth disease for more than 68 years before an outbreak of the disease in March 1997, forcing the culling of millions of pigs and crippling the nation’s pork industry. A sentinel animal is one that is deliberately placed in an environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent. In comparison, the sentinel pigs in 2009 were only isolated for four hours, and were tested only once, Huang said. Finally, he maintained good communication with pig farmers to ensure that they cooperated with the council’s measures, he said.

Source: Taipei Times June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC