The emergence of cases of
African swine fever identified within the pork producing countries,shows it is important to maintain high standards of biosecurity.
The knowledge about the signs of the disease, and equally most important is to know how to curtail the spread.
The pig and its close relatives, boars and hogs are the only natural host of the double-stranded,
Asfarviridae family of viruses, meaning the virus does not cause harm to humans or other animals.
This does not mean that humans and other animals cannot spread the virus as carriers;
African Swine Fever (ASF) is commonly carried by
arthropods, such as the soft-bodied tick, through uptake of blood from infected pigs.
Contamination generally occurs via direct contact with tissue and bodily fluids from infected or carrier pigs, including discharges from the nose, mouth, urine and feces or infected semen.
It also spreads through
transport and consumption of contaminated pork products, and some cases have originated from failure to comply with biosecurity standards by feeding waste food to domestic pigs..
The virus in wild boar and hogs does not manifest any signs of the disease but it remains highly contagious across all swine species and can survive in pigs for long periods of time even post-slaughter and even in frozen carcasses. It is also important to note that curing and smoking pork products does not destroy the virus.
The common signs are as follows: 1). High fever 40-42°C.
2) Loss of appetite.
3) Depression.
4)Vomiting and/or diarrhoea
.
5) In White skinned pigs: extremities (nose, ears, tail and lower legs) become cyanotic (blue-purple color).
6) Discrete hemorrhages appear in the skin particularly on the ears and flanks.
7) Group will huddle together and are usually shivering.
8) Abnormal breathing.
9) Heavy discharge from eyes and/or nose.
10) Lethargic- sometimes refusal to stand or move.
11) Very unsteady when forced to stand up.
12) Comatose state and death within a few days.
Pregnant sows commonly undergo miscarriage or deliver stillborn piglets that are malformed. Piglets can be tested for the virus.
Mortality rate in infected groups of pigs is high and there is no vaccination proven to prevent or cure infection.
Prevention is key,here are some steps to follow
Ensure strict biosecurity rules. Do not take pig meat onto farms, and restrict all food (and consumption of food) to a canteen.
All staff on farm should be inducted onto a strict programme of hand and equipment sanitation before and after contact with pigs.
- Follow rules and regulations on disposal of food waste at ferry ports and airports.
- Provide the means for staff and visitors to thoroughly sanitize their hands and equipment.
- Ensure that wild boar, warthogs and wild pigs, and materials potentially contaminated by such wild species do not come into contact with domestic pigs.
- Check infected regions before importation of goods that could potentially be contaminated.
- Advise and educate people on the risks of bringing back pork products from infected
regions.
