Thailand on high alert against ASF

BANGKOK, June 25 (TNA) - Thailand remains on high alert against the African swine fever (ASF) in response to outbreaks of the animal disease in neighboring countries. Dr. Jeerasak Pipattanapongsophon, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Livestock Development, under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, told journalists of the move in Bangkok on Tuesday, after chairing a meeting of business operators in the domestic swine raising sector. "The meeting is aimed to support domestic swine farms to be prepared for handling the situation timely and safely, by providing them with proper information and measures, in case that there may be any outbreak of the livestock disease in their areas", Dr. Jeerasak said. Dr. Jeerasak acknowledged Thailand's high alert against the ASF complies with a recent notification issued by the Paris-based Office International des Epizooties (OIE), in response to the ongoing ASF outbreaks in Lao PDR. The senior official stated that his department has also issued an order to livestock authorities nationwide to strictly prevent any outbreak of the animal disease in their areas by conducting thorough and comprehensive checks all movements of live swines and even other livestocks, as well as their carcass sets to assure that they come from safe and legally-licensed sources. For exports of Thailand's live swines and other livestocks and their carcass sets to neighboring countries, namely Cambodia and Lao PDR, the senior official revealed that authorities of his department's Animal Feed and Veterinary Products Control have been assigned to hold meetings or disseminate information to relevant parties on the official ban against the transportation or the delivery of the products to, or pass through, areas where there are ASF outbreaks or outbreak-prone zones. Besides, thorough inspections at markets and retail stores nationwide have also been ordered, especially those in border areas, to assure that pork and other meat sold to local consumers come from safe and legally-licensed sources. According to the senior official, border Thai provinces have also been instructed to open war rooms to closely monitor and discuss updates among all concerned parties, including frequent surveys of the swine and other livestock population in the standard radius of 5-10 kilometers of each livestock farm in their areas, while the National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH) has been asked to quickly train relevant personnel and parties on the use of portable PCR devices for effective checks and detections of the ASF in all suspected or sensitive Thai areas. (TNA)