Commentary
It is a rare day without some media reference to ASF. Foreign countries are experiencing active infections in domestic herds and wild hogs. We believe it is important to expose all animal health pros to the efforts in the U.S. to block ASF from entering the country.
ASF is a potential One Health issue paralleling HPAI and FMD in its potential effect on food safety and zoonoses.”
Biosecurity is being redefined as experts work to avoid an ASF outbreak caused by viral transfer in processed meats, animal feeds and supplements. Biosecurity efforts also include the risks inherent in transporting hogs, and farm-to-farm transfer on humans and other fomites such as rats and birds.
Articles published in recent months can be found below.
Source: African swine fever prevention comes down to one thing: biosecurity, The Pig Site, August 31, 2022. Link.
Biosecurity may sound like a buzzword, but it is the biggest thing producers can do to prevent the introduction of not only ASF, but any pathogen to their farms.” – Dustin Oedekoven, DVM, Diplomate ACVPM
Source: African swine fever: No treatment yet, some progress on vaccine, The Pig Site, September 26, 2022. Link. The African swine fever virus is in a category by itself with no comparison viruses and no treatments available. It’s a large virus and coding for several proteins makes it very difficult to create a vaccine
Source: 7 things nutritionists can do to mitigate the spread of African swine fever, Feed Strategy, September/October 2022, page 36. Link. Until a working vaccine is found, prevention is the only measure against ASF. Ioannis Mavromichalis reviews measures that can be used to avoid nutritional transfer of ASF.
Source: Which disinfectants kill African swine fever? PORK, October 25, 2022. Link. For the full report comparing 7 different compounds, click here <Link>.
Source: How long does ASF live in feed? Swineweb.com, November 1, 2022. Link. A recent study confirms ASFV DNA can be detected in feed at least one year after contamination. Infectious ASFV was most stable in soybean meal, with the virus maintaining infectivity as determined by swine bioassay for at least 112 days at 40°F, at least 21 days at 68°F, and at least seven days at 95°F.
Source: FFAR grant develops additional African swine fever vaccines, National Hog Farmer, November 10, 2022. Link. USDA researchers are identifying the viral proteins involved in immunity and infection to develop a vector-based subunit vaccine, a vaccine that includes a component of the virus to stimulate an immune response.
Source: Model aims to identify vehicles that may play super-spreader role, National Hog Farmer, November 15, 2022. Link. Using new measurement approaches, the study objectives include determining the average, maximum and minimum distance of potential disease spread created by vehicles coming on and off farms. They are also evaluating the impact of cleaning and disinfection effectiveness in reducing the number of between-farm contacts. Their work will help identify likely pathways for disease to spread between farms.