African Swine Fever (ASF) : STAY ONE STEP AHEAD

African Swine fever (ASF) in its classical form is a peracute to the acute, highly fatal disease of domestic pigs caused by a virus. It was originally confined to Africa by its natural hosts, namely argasid ticks and wild suids in which infection is inapparent.  The disease is characterized by high fever, short course with skin congestion, cyanosis, prostration, and widespread hemorrhages in many organ systems, particularly the lymphoid tissues.  Morbidity and mortality rates are almost 100%. However, where the disease has become endemic in domestic pigs, mortality rates may be considerably reduced.

   

Causes

African swine fever is caused by the Asfarviridae family of viruses which are distinct from the viruses associated with Classical swine fever. In addition to direct contact with an infected pig, the virus can be passed on to animals that eat virus-laden pork or feed, via contaminated clothing or equipment or when a pig drinks water containing even minute quantities of the virus.

Clinical signs

• High fever 40-42°C.
• Loss of appetite.
• Depression.
• Lethargic- sometimes refusal to stand or move.
• Very unsteady when stood up.
• Vomiting and/or diarrhoea with bloody discharge.
• White-skinned pigs: extremities (nose, ears, tail and lower legs) become cyanotic (blue-purple colour).
• Discrete haemorrhages appear in the skin, particularly on the ears and flanks.
• Group will huddle together and are usually shivering.
• Abnormal breathing.
• Heavy discharge from eyes and/or nose.
• Comatose state and death within a few days.
• Some pigs can show conjunctivitis with reddening of the conjunctival mucosa and ocular discharges.

Prevention / Treatment

Despite the enormous effort, there is no live or attenuated vaccine for the prevention of ASF therefore control of the virus is reliant on strict biosecurity.

So avoid the domestic pig foods wastes and also don't leave the food wastes for the wild swine species for contamination.

The foremost measure is to abide by the strict biosecurity rule.

Conclusion

Experts estimate that approximately 200 million pigs were culled in China last year to prevent the spread of the fatal disease. Pigs infected with the disease have also been found in India, Belgium, Papua New Guinea and many other countries.

An outbreak of African swine fever decimated China’s hog herds, the world’s largest pork market.

One of the reasons why African swine fever is so hard to eradicate is that it’s easy to transmit. Despite prevention and control measures, African swine fever has continued to widen its hold in many countries.

Click below to look a short video of sleeping pig. 👇