Over the past three weeks, outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have been reported among farmed swine in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam. In Japan, a further outbreak has been recorded of classical swine fever (CSF).
3 European states register new ASF outbreaks in swine
During the month of April, ASF virus was detected at five premises in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is according to recent notifications to the national veterinary authority to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Directly impacted were a total of approximately 1,350 domestic pigs in herds described as “backyards” ranging in size up to 938 animals. All were located in the same region — the Republic of Srpska.
In Romania, a further 12 ASF outbreaks have been confirmed among small herds of non-commercial swine, according to latest reports to the same agency.
Meanwhile, the animal health agency in Greece has reported to WOAH the third ASF outbreak of 2024 in domestic pigs. Approximately two weeks ago, the virus was detected at a farm in the Central Macedonia region. Affected were 103 animals, 26 of which died.
So far in 2024, eight European states have together registered a total of 116 outbreaks of ASF in swine. This is according to the latest update from the European Commission (EC; dated May 29). The EC’s Animal Disease Information System covers notifiable animal diseases in European Union (EU) member states, and selected adjacent states.
According to this source, worst affected countries have been Romania (48 for the year to date) and Serbia (34).
A recent European study has revealed that the spread of the ASF virus in feed is “unlikely.”
Cases in European wild boar continue to rise
Latest update from the EC puts the number of outbreaks in the region’s wild boar at 2,946 in 21 states of Europe.
Countries recording the most outbreaks through the system are Poland (827) and Italy (796), while Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania have each reported between 200 and 300 outbreaks in this population for the year so far.
After a brief hiatus, ASF has been detected again in the Kiev region of Ukraine. One animal found dead in a hunting ground tested positive for the virus in May, according to the WOAH notification.
ASF developments in Asia
On May 21, presence of the ASF virus was detected on a farm with 1,577 domestic pigs in South Korea. According to the WOAH notification, 59 of the animals died, and the rest have been culled.
The outbreak — in the northern province of Gangwon — resulted in a 48-hour suspension in the movements of pigs and related products across much of the region and neighboring Gyeonggi.
This is the nation’s third outbreak in this population so far this year, according to Pigs & People (as of May 31), and affected was a herd of fattening pigs. A total of approximately 136,000 pigs have been directly impacted in 41 outbreaks in South Korea since the country’s first cases in August 2021.
Among South Korea’s wild boar population, further cases have been detected. According to the same source, the total stands at 4,064 — an increase of 44 during the past month.
In Indonesia, the number of ASF outbreaks for the year to date has risen to 187, with cases in five provinces. Directly affected have been 1,427 pigs, according to the national animal health information system, including more than 1,000 in the East Nusa Tenggara area.
Six regions in the Philippines have active ASF outbreaks, reported the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry in mid-May. Affected are three regions in Luzon, two in Mindanao, and one in Central Visayas.
In Vietnam, ASF outbreaks for the year stood at 171 for the year to date (as of April 12), according to the latest overview of the disease situation from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. With cases confirmed in 31 provinces, the situation appears to be most active in the north and center of the country.
For the first time, ASF virus has been detected in the Bumthang district of Bhutan, according to a recent WOAH notification. Affecting 11 wild boar that died or were found dead, the source of the infection in this northern district is unknown.
South Africa, Ivory Coast record ASF outbreaks in village herds
Between late March and early May, ASF outbreaks were confirmed at four locations in South Africa.
According to notifications recently received by WOAH, affected were first a group of 150 pigs in Free State, and then 16 animals in Tshwane city in Gauteng. The more recent outbreaks affected farms with small pig herds in Gauteng.
These bring to 195 the country’s total ASF outbreaks in this disease series since April 2019. Directly affected have been more than 73,300 domestic swine.
Meanwhile, further outbreaks have been reported at two small farms in the West African state of Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire).
Both occurred in late April, according to the WOAH report. Affected were one premises with 21 pigs in Sassandra-Marahoué — the same region where a previous outbreak was confirmed in March — and another with 31 animals in the capital city, Abidjan, in the southeast of the country.
These bring the country’s total outbreaks in this ASF series, which started in mid-March, to three.
A second disease series in Ivory Coast started in July 2023, and has so far involved four pig herds in other districts. According to the latest WOAH report, no further mortality has been observed in connection with the ASF virus in this area.
In the Republic of Angola in Central Africa, the veterinary authority has declared to WOAH that the only recent ASF outbreak is “closed.”
In February of this year, presence of the ASF virus had been detected at one farm with approximately7,400 pigs. As a result, all of the animals at the premises were either culled or slaughtered.
View our continuing coverage of the global African swine fever situation.
Classical swine fever detected on Japanese farm
Within the past week, pigs at a farm in Japan have tested positive for the CSF virus.
Testing was carried out at the premises in the Nasushiobara city area after 15 fattening pigs died, according to the official WOAH report. Number of animals at the premises, which is in Tochigi prefecture, is not specified in the notification.
This brought to 91 the number of CSF outbreaks in the country’s domestic pigs since 2018. The only other outbreak in the country this year occurred in the same prefecture in the Kanto region of central Honshu in February.
Tochigi is among the 46 prefectures in which CSF vaccination of domestic swine has been allowed since 2019.
Like ASF, CSF (also known as hog cholera) is a notifiable disease that affects members of the pig family, according to the WOAH. Both diseases can cause devastating losses in domestic and wild populations, while not impacting human health.
Despite the similar names, CSF and ASF are caused by unrelated viruses.
PigUA.info based on www.feedstrategy.com