Live-pig markets, traders could provide insight to controlling African swine fever.

Live-pig markets, traders could provide insight to controlling African swine fever. A new study published recently in the journal PLOS ONE has shown that Understanding how live pigs are traded between villages and backyard farmers can help health agencies better understand how devastating swine diseases spread. Researchers at the University of California, Davis' Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance and the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization examined patterns of live-pig trade in the republic of Georgia. The country was the first in Europe to be affected by African swine fever in 2007, and from there the disease spread to the Caucasus region, Russian Federation and Eastern Europe, where it is still actively spreading today. African swine fever has a mortality rate of over 90 percent in pigs, often killing within seven to 14 days. Endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, the virus is re-emerging in new areas and is a major threat to pork production worldwide, both through direct losses and the effects of culling, trade sanctions and export restrictions imposed by countries to stop its spread. There is currently no treatment or vaccine for the disease. more