PSA: HARMLESS TO HUMAN HEALTH, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ECONOMY?
What is African swine fever?
It is a viral infection that affects domestic pigs and wild suids (wild boar and warthogs) and is not transmissible to humans. However, humans can act as a vector for the virus through contamination of vehicles, clothing, equipment and food of, or containing, pork products, including cured meat.
It is a highly infectious disease and often fatal for affected animals, caused by a virus belonging to the Asfarviridae family, genus Asfivirus. This virus is unable to induce the production of neutralising antibodies, a factor that makes vaccine development extremely challenging.
What are the signs and symptoms of African swine fever?
The main symptoms in affected animals are:
- fever
- loss of appetite
- weakness of the hind limbs, resulting in an unsteady gait
- respiratory difficulties and oculo-nasal discharge
- constipation
- spontaneous abortions
- internal haemorrhages
- visible haemorrhages on the ears and flanks
The presence of the virus in the blood (viraemia) lasts from 4 to 5 days. The virus circulates associated with certain types of blood cells, causing symptoms that often lead, in a very short time, to the death of the animal.
Animals that survive the disease may remain carriers of the virus for approximately one year, thus playing a key role in the persistence of the virus in endemic areas and in its transmission.
The virus shows strong resistance in the external environment and can remain viable for up to 100 days, surviving inside cured meat products for several months or withstanding high temperatures. In collected blood samples, it can be detected for up to 18 months.
What should be done to prevent African swine fever from entering a pig farm?
To summarise the main virus transmission routes, listed meticulously point by point in the Biosecurity Manual approved by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna (IZSLER), these are:
- insect bites (ticks, mosquitoes, etc.)
- equipment and clothing contaminated by external agents
- direct contact with already infected pigs
- poor hygiene within pig housing or the use of unsuitable products
- poor or uncontrolled pig feeding
How can Borin help prevent the entry of the virus into the facility?
The safety measures that can effectively and efficiently help contain and limit the problem are:
- decontamination mats and Wave mats to reduce the bacterial load on mobile equipment and soles
- air curtains to protect access points, which, when combined with our UV traps, drastically reduce the presence of potentially dangerous insects
- hygiene stations for sole and hand hygiene, and to control the flow of staff and authorised visitors entering high-risk areas
- sterile showers as a sanitising entry barrier for EPAL pallets/personnel in high-risk areas
- centralised multi-pressure washing systems, combined with mixing injectors and products registered in Italy as Presidi Medico Chirurgici (PMC), specifically designed to neutralise the virus during the washing of pig housing, production areas and transport vehicles
Sources:
Classyfarm Biosecurity Manual
Illustrated explanation of ASF transimssion routes