August 22, 2012

Ukraine detects African swine fever disease

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned risk of pig disease spread following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) detected in Ukraine.

While control measures appear to have temporarily halted the disease's spread, "the first-ever detection of African swine fever in Ukraine has established a firm foothold in the Caucasus and poses an on-going risk to neighbouring areas," the Rome-based organisation said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 21).

In addition to some other parts of Ukraine, nearby countries like Moldova, Kazakhstan and Latvia, which have large pig populations, are also now at high risk, according to the FAO.

All countries at risk should scale up their prevention measures, stand ready to detect ASF outbreaks as soon as they occur and respond in a proactive fashion, the organisation warned.

ASF does not affect humans, but mortalities in domestic pigs can be extremely high. Last year, up to 300,000 pigs died or were culled as a result of ASF outbreaks in Russia, incurring an estimated loss of US$240 million.

Humans often contribute unconsciously to the spread of this highly infectious virus. For example, foodstuffs that contain ASF-contaminated pork or pork products can be consumed by scavenging free-ranging pigs.

Therefore, FAO recommended a strict ban on swill feeding, a mix of liquid and solid food scraps and leftovers, which is largely responsible for new infections.

European wild boars are also susceptible to the disease, which makes them a vector for transmission as they wander freely across national boundaries, the FAO said.