African Swine Fever claimed lives of 5 million pigs in Asia: FAO

“As there is no commercially available vaccine, we need to place greater emphasis on other disease counter efforts. Countries must be vigilant at borders – land, sea or air – in preventing the disease’s entrance and spread through the introduction of infected pigs or contaminated pork products. Outbreaks need to be reported immediately,” said FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Juan Lubroth.

 The spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) has caused the death of almost five million pigs in Asia, said a report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The ASF is a contagious virus that affects domestic and wild pigs. This is not dangerous for humans but it causes up to 100 per cent fatality in pigs, leading to severe economic losses to the pig sector. The viral was first detected in Asia one year ago this month. According to the FAO report of UN, the ASF is present in six Asian countries of Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Lao PDR, Mongolia and Viet Nam.  The latest data provided by the FAO indicates that current losses represent more than 10 per cent of the total pig population in each of China, Viet Nam and Mongolia. With the FAO support, other countries in the region are ramping up preparedness efforts to prevent further spreading of the disease.

“As there is no commercially available vaccine, we need to place greater emphasis on other disease counter efforts. Countries must be vigilant at borders – land, sea or air – in preventing the disease’s entrance and spread through the introduction of infected pigs or contaminated pork products. Outbreaks need to be reported immediately,” said FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Juan Lubroth. “We are urging at-risk countries to implement effective biosecurity measures to prevent infected live pigs or contaminated pork products from crossing their borders,” he said. African swine fever was first detected in Africa in the 1920s. On top of the Asian outbreak, Europe is currently experiencing a slowly-spreading epidemic among some of its wild pig population and some countries have introduced tight restrictions to limit the movement of wild pigs.

The report said that healthy pigs can become sick through contact with an infected pig, particularly where blood is present. Infection can also occur if a pig consumes raw contaminated swill or undercooked or raw pork products. Farmworkers’ contaminated footwear, clothes, tools or other equipment can also spread infection. The outbreak is particularly affecting vulnerable small-scale farmers who may lack the expertise or funds to protect their animals from the disease. In Viet Nam, the pork industry makes up almost 10 per cent of the country’s agriculture sector and pork meat accounts for almost three-quarters of meat consumed. The country has, to date, culled approximately three million pigs in an effort to curb the spread of the disease, raising concerns that ASF could contribute to an increase in food insecurity in already-challenged communities.

In China, there are at least 26 million pig farming producers, and about 50 per cent of total pork production is by small-scale farmers. Some farmers have lost their entire pig herd to the disease and it may take badly-affected countries years to recover from the socio-economic effects of the outbreak,” Lubroth said. The FAO’s Emergency Management Centre for Animal Health (EMC-AH) has deployed several response teams to assist countries in curbing the disease, in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The teams worked with veterinary services and government representatives to increase biosecurity measures in and around farms, and advise on effective culling techniques that respect international animal welfare standards.