New swine fever case confirmed in Aichi Pref.

February 14, 2019

Nagoya--The Aichi prefectural government said Thursday that a new case of swine fever infection has been confirmed in the central Japan prefecture, at a pig farm in the city of Tahara.

Some 1,200 pigs at the farm will be slaughtered.

Since the first swine fever infection in the country in 26 years was detected in Gifu Prefecture, next to Aichi, in September last year, the disease, also known as hog cholera, has been confirmed also in three other prefectures--Nagano, Shiga and Osaka.

The latest outbreak confirmation came as the Aichi government was conducting quarantine checks around a different Tahara farm, where swine fever infection was confirmed on Wednesday. The two farms are located close to each other.

In Aichi, swine fever was detected at a farm in the city of Toyota and a related farm in Tahara on Feb. 6.

Outbreaks were confirmed on the same day at farms in Nagano, Gifu, Shiga and Osaka, to which pigs had been shipped from the Toyota farm.

The agriculture ministry is speeding up its investigation to identify the infection route.

Swine fever infects pigs and wild boars, but does not transmit to humans. Consumption of meat from infected animals will not affect human health. Jiji Press