African swine fever (ASF) is once again in the headlines.
In a recent article in The Guardian, Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmers Union, expressed concerns that ministers were failing to ensure imported food and agricultural products were safe, saying “We are seeing little to no checks on imports that are coming in from the EU. We have the massive risk of African swine fever in Europe, and to not be investing in our defences for keeping our biosecurity and animal and plant health safe, I think is just a dereliction of duty.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) responded by saying that “we implement strict biosecurity controls on high-risk imports to ensure no products cross our borders which could pose a risk to the industry”. They also stated that “We stringently monitor emerging outbreaks across the globe, assess any risks to our food supply chain, and work closely with the Food Standards Agency’s national food crime unit to tackle food fraud”.
With ASF recorded in 19 countries across Europe and over 100 million pigs killed by the disease globally since 2018, the threat to UK pig farmers is still very real. Also, with potential trade deals with countries where food standards are different to Europe’s and the UK, the risks from insufficient border checks opens up the potential for African swine fever to gain a foothold in the UK.
One thing that Minette Batter and the UK government agree on is that robust on-farm biosecurity is the first line of defence against ASF.
Find out more about African swine fever with our spotlight here.
The signs you should watch out for in your pigs:
Being alert to the early symptoms of African swine fever in your pigs can give you a headstart in managing an outbreak. Also, it is a notifiable disease, meaning that if you suspect the disease has infected your animals, it is your legal obligation to inform the authorities.
The signs of African swine fever can occur in 3 degrees, chronic, sub-acute or an acute form. Constant vigilance is needed as the incubation period can range from five to 15 days. In the acute form, animals will develop a high temperature of 40.5 degrees centigrade and often can result in death.
It must be noted that pigs infected with a mild strain of African swine fever may not show signs of infection or become ill. It is important to note that African swine fever symptoms are indistinguishable to swine flu and also other pig diseases like Porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome.
Symptoms to be alert for include:
- Stillbirths and weak litters
- Sudden deaths
- Vomiting
- Breathing difficulties and coughing
- Diarrhoea
- Lack of appetite
- Red or darkened skills, often around snout and the ears
- Unsteady gait and unwillingness to stand
- Dummy eyes
- Weeping eyes and nose
- A lack of energy
How African swine fever spreads
African swine fever is extremely contagious and can spread in many ways. Your animals can contract the disease if:
- They consume infected meat or meat products. It must be noted that the virus can survive for 70-192 days and much longer in frozen carcasses.
- If they have been in contact with infected animals.
- Animals have had contact with anything contaminated with the virus. This includes people, their clothing, vehicles and equipment that has been on another farm.
What should pig farmers do to protect their animals?
Biosecurity is key.
Livetec are leading the way in biosecurity. Our evidence based biosecurity plans provide a level of protection that goes beyond routine cleaning, disinfecting and the use of chemicals.
We have a diverse range of products, services and plans which are designed to protect your livestock. These include:
- Biosecurity Advisory Service
- Contingency Plan
- Biosecurity Plan
- Cleansing and Disinfection Plan
- Emergency Response Plan
- National Outbreak Plan
To organise a telephone consultation contact our biosecurity advisers here. Find out what you have to do to future-proof your farm business and livestock from African swine fever.
