FAO to hold an emergency meeting in Asia due to Chinese ASF crisis
Specialists from China and representatives of UN's Food and Agricultural Organization are to host a meeting with officials from nine other Asian countries due to the risk presented by the ASF outbreaks reported in the last month in China.
The nine countries are Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to a statement issued by FAO. "It's critical that this region be ready for the very real possibility that swine fever could jump the border in other countries", said Wantanee Kalpravidh, regional manager of the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) in Asia.
Recent research studies and technologies and consider lessons learned from the ongoing episodes in Europe will be discussed during the meeting.
"That's why this emergency meeting has been convened - to assess where we are now - and to determine how we can work together in a coordinated, regional response to this serious situation", added Kalpravidh.
China has reported eight cases of ASF until now and some neighbouring countries are already on high alert when it comes to pork imports or travellers arriving from the regions where the virus is present. The disease does not affect humans but it can be transmitted through them. There is no vaccine for African Swine Fever.
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