Strict inspections of processed pork products from overseas will be kept in place in a bid to stave off an outbreak of African swine fever, especially from China, after several samples of sausages confiscated from Chinese tourists entering Thailand were found to have a viral strain of African swine flu.
The Department of Livestock Development on Wednesday invited various agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Customs Department, the National Institute of Animal Health as well as university academics to seek closer cooperation on monitoring diseases in the country's pig population.
Thailand has the biggest pork industry in Asean, with over 22 million pigs and 1.2 million sows.
Sorawit Thaneto, chief of the Department of Livestock Development, said on Wednesday the department has confirmed that no African swine fever has been detected in Thailand.
However, it has not lowered its guard because the disease keeps spreading in China, he said.
The Department of Livestock Development has discussed the case with the various agencies for strengthening cooperation to stop the disease from entering Thailand.
"Even though the disease has no impact on human beings, it can severely destroy the country's economic growth," he said.
"The damage has been forecast at up to 100 billion baht if an outbreak occurs. With such a massive figure, it must impact the country's GDP growth."
He said the department has mapped out high-risk areas that require strict inspections, especially border areas with high numbers of pigs and pig carcasses passing through checkpoints such as Chiang Rai, Mukdahan, Sa Kaew and Nong Khai province, as well as key production bases in Ratchaburi and Nakhon Pathom.
All of the governors in these high-risk areas have been advised to set up special task forces.
Mr Sorawit said pig farmers must monitor the health conditions of their animals and that all pig farms must be run according to good agricultural practices in terms of disease prevention.
Pigs must only be fed food that has been cooked for at least 30 minutes at a minimum heat of 70C.
Moreover, if any pig is found to have cholera-like symptoms, farmers must immediately report the case to livestock officials for a quick diagnosis.
The World Organisation for Animal Health announced the outbreak earlier this year, listing 15 countries across Europe and African regions, as well as Russia and China.
The FDA on Dec 25 issued an advisory to quarantine pork imported from the 15 countries.
The FDA's secretary-general Tares Krassanairawiwong said FDA staff working at 50 FDA checkpoints nationwide will search for pork produced by those countries. It will be confiscated and tested by authorities.
The National Institute of Animal Health on Dec 10 found two samples of sausage that tested positive for African swine fever.
The sausages were confiscated from Chinese tourists from Chengdu and Xishuangbanna.