Pigs Against Malaria.

                                Pigs Against Malaria.

Mosquito vector-borne diseases are serious global health threats. Malaria alone claims the lives of about 600,000 people annually. With such high death tolls, controlling vectors and the pathogens that they carry is of critical importance.

 Ivermectin is a broad spectrum antiparasitic medication that can be used both internally and topically for the treatment of myriad parasites, including filarial worms, gastrointestinal parasites, and scabies. And, as it turns out, ivermectin can even kill mosquitoes.

 Scientists have shown that having humans in an entire village take ivermectin can disrupt transmission of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

How to establish and maintain a mange-free pig populations.

How to establish and maintain a mange-free pig populations.The establishment and maintenance of mange-free herds is achieved by three important facts:
1) Piglets are born free of mites.

2) Mites are highly host-specific and do not survive long away from their host.

3)Modern treatments are very effective.

 Mange-free herds can also be established with cesarean piglets, by depopulation and repopulation from mange-free stock, by segregated rearing of treated pigs or by eradication using ivermectins and other products.

 Biosecurity measures that focus on careful scrutiny of incoming stock and sourcing stock from a minimal number of herds are usually adequate to prevent re-introduction of the parasite.


 Mange control involves identification of animals with chronic mange so that they can receive systematic and regular treatment to protect the younger animals in the herd.All control programmes must target the breeding herd.

Mange in pigs.

The importance of external parasites in pig production varies greatly among regions because of differences in climate and systems used to raise pigs. Sarcoptic mange caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var suis is the most important external parasite of pigs worldwide.

 Other external parasites include demodectic mites, lice, fungi and ticks. External parasites produce a range of clinical signs in pigs including rubbing, scratching, and skin lesions. Some parasites also cause significant economic effects due to reduced growth rate, reduced feed efficiency, and loss of carcass value at slaughter.

 Sarcoptic Mange. Two clinical forms of the disease are recognized: a hyperkeratotic form that most commonly affects multiparous sows and a pruritic or hypersensitive form that primarily affects growing pigs.

 The sarcoptes mite is a small, greyish-white, circular parasite about 0.5mm in length and just visible to the naked eye when placed on a dark background.

 Hyperkeratotic encrustations in the ears of multiparous sows are the main reservoir of mites within a herd. The boar helps to maintain infection in the herd because he is constantly in direct skin contact with breeding females and he remains a chronic carrier.

If pigs are housed in groups, there is increased opportunity for spread. Piglets become infested during suckling. Environmental spread is less important but exposure for as little as 24 hours to pens that have been immediately vacated by previously infected pigs can result in infestation.

 The mite dies quickly away from the pig; under most farm conditions in less than five days. This is an important factor in control. If a herd is free from mange, it is one of the easiest diseases to keep out because it can only be introduced by carrier pigs.

However, once it is introduced, it tends to become permanently endemic unless control measures are taken. In the acute disease,there is severe hypersensitive (allergic) mange in a sow.

Scientist tracking mosquitoes with cell phone.

Mosquitoes can be deadly, transmitting malaria, dengue, and Zika. But tracking them is tough. Now, researchers—led by bioengineer Manu Prakash of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California—have developed a new, cheap way to monitor these insects with mobile phones and a Shazam-like app that tells them apart based on their “songs.” Most mosquito species can be identified by the frequency of their wingbeats, so the web app—aptly named Abuzz—lets users upload recordings of mosquito sounds, identify the species, and map its location. But getting a good recording can be tricky: The insect cannot be more than 10 centimeters away from the microphone, and background noise cannot be louder than light traffic.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus.

The Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct contact, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season. The JE virus is the main cause of serious encephalitis in people in Asia. The virus is found in large parts of Southeast Asia and is now also widespread in India. It circulates between birds and mosquitoes and between pigs and mosquitoes, and is passed to humans through mosquito bites. In children in particular, infection can lead to acute encephalitis and permanent impairment or even death. In pigs, the main effect of the virus alongside fever and encephalitis is fertility problems. The virus is closely related to the West Nile, Zika and dengue viruses. All are transmitted by mosquitoes and are flaviviruses, which cause serious illness in humans and animals.

Control of Biting Insects on Pigs.

How to control Biting Insects on Pigs.Biting insects such as flies, mosquitoes, midges or sand flies and ticks can cause major economic loss to pig farmers. Irritation from biting flies and mosquitoes can cause skin lesions or allergic–type reactions in pigs. Some pigs need to be skinned at the abattoir. Paralysis ticks can cause deaths among piglets and illness in older pigs housed outdoors, resulting in major financial loss for the farmer. The Dipteran biting flies of most significance to pig farmers are March flies (Family: Tabanidae), stable flies (Family: Muscidae), biting midges or sand flies (Family: Ceratopogonidae) and mosquitoes (Family: Culicidae). Each type of fly has it own specific habitat but they share a similar life cycle – eggs, larvae or maggots, pupae and adult form. Mosquitoes go through four instars or moults in their larval stage before forming pupae. Biting flies tend to be day–time feeders and most active on bright sunny days whereas mosquitoes tend to be night–time feeders. The females are mostly the biters and they seek blood for breeding and egg production. The flies multiply in warm, moist conditions so late spring, summer and early autumn tend to be the problem periods. Populations can increase dramatically as seasonal conditions change. House and bush flies, which do not bite, can also be a major nuisance to pigs and should be controlled using the same techniques.

Facts about African Swine Fever.

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.