New swine fever case confirmed in Japan

February 20, 2019

Gifu--The Gifu prefectural government said Tuesday that a new case of swine fever infection has been confirmed in the central Japan prefecture, at a pig farm in the city of Mizunami.

The prefecture will slaughter some 6,000 pigs raised at the farm.

This is the 10th swine fever case confirmed among domestic animals in Japan since the first instance of the disease in 26 years in the country occurred in the prefecture in September last year.

In its on-site inspection on Monday, the prefectural government found three pigs dead at the Mizunami farm. Multiple pigs tested positive for swine fever in a detailed examination conducted Tuesday.

The prefectural government also confirmed that some 100 pigs raised at the farm were shipped Sunday to a wholesale market in Nagoya, the capital of neighboring Aichi Prefecture. The Gifu side has informed the Aichi prefectural government of this.

Two dead wild boars infected with the disease were found at a place some 3 kilometers from the Mizunami farm, according to the Gifu government.

An investigation team from the agriculture ministry will work on identifying an infection route, including the possibility of wild boars carrying the swine fever virus.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, agriculture minister Takamori Yoshikawa said that his ministry will make a decision soon on whether to immunize wild boars after considering the merits and demerits of the step.

Ministry officials are currently discussing the effectiveness of giving wild boars feed mixed with swine fever vaccines.

Swine fever infects pigs and wild boars, but is not transmitted to humans. The consumption of meat from infected animals will not affect human health. Jiji Press