The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has opened a three-day emergency meeting to examine the most recent developments in China following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country, and propose a regional response to the threat that ASF could spread to other countries in Asia.

The specialists – veterinary epidemiologists, and laboratory experts – as well as other senior technical staff, directly involved with regulatory aspects of disease prevention and control planning, are drawn from ten countries with geographical proximity to China, and perceived to be at risk of a transboundary spread of ASF. The participants are from Cambodia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Experts from outside of the region will also attend as will participants from the private commercial swine sector.