To boost knowledge of major diseases of swine and intensify awareness of biosafety measures among pig raisers and animal disease prevention personnel, the Health Inspection Office and the Taichung City Pig Raiser's Association jointly held an awareness meeting at the Dajia District's Chaogangcheng Conference Building on March 21. At the meeting, Associate Prof. Yang Cheng-yao spoke on the subject of "Use of Biosafety Measures to Prevent Hog Cholera and Other Major Diseases of Swine." By publicizing the most serious pig diseases and prevention methods, this session increased knowledge concerning such major infectious diseases of pigs as hog cholera among pig raisers and animal disease prevention personnel, and highlighted the critical importance of disease prevention.

According to the Health Inspection Office, Taiwan has currently entered a key period in the fight to stamp out hog cholera. To stop the spread of hog cholera and other pig diseases, the key step is to ensure that pig raisers take appropriate biocontrol measures at their farms, including regular disinfection. Other measures that must be taken by pig raisers include cooking kitchen waste at 90°C for at least one hour, while pig farms with fewer than 200 pigs are prohibited from using kitchen waste. Taichung is using multiple channels to jointly prevent infectious animal diseases from entering the city's pig farms.

       To avoid the emergence and spread of major diseases in pigs, the Health Inspection Office again reminds pig raisers to step up biosafety procedures at their farms, checking entering and exiting personnel and vehicles, increasing the frequency of disinfection throughout the farm environment, and avoiding visits to pig farms in areas with active outbreaks. If pig raisers find any abnormal signs of disease in their pigs, they must immediately notify the Health Inspection Office, which will promptly undertake response and control measures.