5 things to do in an African swine fever outbreak

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has provided updated numbers on the number of animals affected by African Swine Fever (ASF) across the Asian continent.

Following the outbreak, more than 5.7 million pigs have been culled in Vietnam alone, with millions of other animals having to be destroyed across other countries including the Philippines, China, Cambodia, Myanmar and more.

What is African Swine Fever?

African Swine Fever Is a highly contagious viral disease found in pigs. African Swine Fever first emerged from East Africa in the early 1900s. The disease causes pigs to have extremely high temperatures of up to 41⁰C. Other symptoms include a loss of appetite, lethargy and visibly blotchy skin. It is seen as one of the most deadliest animal diseases impacting domestic pigs.

The disease can result in death almost all pigs and wild boar that are infected. There is currently no vaccine available to treat the virus. Therefore, bio-security is essential in controlling and preventing the spread of disease.

How does it spread?

African Swine Fever is considered to be spread through direct contact with other infected animals. It is suspected that the wild boar population were the first carriers of the disease and are the reason for the wide spread of the virus. African Swine Fever can also be carried through insects such as ticks.

Meat products have become a concern as it has been discovered that ASF can survive several months in processed meat, and several years in frozen carcasses. In various airports across South East Asia, meat products brought in by travellers have been confiscated and tested positive for African Swine Fever.

Poor management of waste products resulting from an outbreak of this nature can lead to further spread of the disease. This, together with the land and water becoming infected, can potentially see the disease become present in the food and drink we eat.

As such, it is essential that countries affected by this outbreak take steps to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever and effectively destroy any infected materials.

Here, we detail the steps countries must follow during an African Swine Fever outbreak:

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