April 3, 2020

 

China's "super pigs" still fail amid haphazard biosecurity

 

 

China should do more to improve basic biosecurity to protect its hog herd from infection and focus less on developing disease-resistant "super pigs", according to analysts.

 

Several companies claim to be close to a breakthrough treatment for African swine fever (ASF).

 

China's hog herd has begun to steadily rebuild after swine fever spread across the country a year and a half ago, killing or forcing the culling of 60% of the pig population, according to authorities. But poor biosecurity—including the transport of pigs in filthy trucks and a lack of disinfection at farms—still threatens the industry, observers said.

 

There is no commercially available vaccine for swine fever—which is not harmful to humans—but a number of researchers claim they are close developing one.

 

China's Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the country's top research body on animal diseases, said last month it had developed a vaccine for ASF that laboratory testing showed was safe and effective. However, it did not give a timetable on when it would be available for commercial use.

 

Meanwhile, Shandong Landsee Genetics, a company in China's eastern Shandong province, was reported this week to have successfully bred ASF-resistant pigs. The pigs, called Lansibai-2, are from the large white breed, one of the most common raised in China.

 

When approached for comment, a spokeswoman for the company said the research was confidential and she was not authorised to speak to media.

 

Despite the apparent progress, analysts are generally sceptical that a silver bullet to prevent the disease will be developed on a large scale any time soon.

"Because this disease has been found in many countries, I don't think there has been major progress [when it comes to eliminating the disease]," said Chenjun Pan, senior analyst for animal protein at Rabobank. "There have been some vaccines, but the effectiveness of the vaccines is not that satisfactory. So far there haven't been any solutions from a medical perspective."

 

China's swine fever problem is complicated by an unwillingness from local governments to diagnose and report ASF cases, said E.W. Johnson, of Enable AgTech Consulting in Beijing. It was also made worse by basic hygiene problems, he added.

 

"Pigs with ASF are sold to slaughter every day, and dirty trucks are going everywhere, spreading the disease as much as they did when the ASF outbreak began," Johnson said.

 

"There is no doubt that people are very excited and extremely zealous about these super-pigs. [But] China seems intent on living with ASF rather than getting rid of it."

 

While the industry was closely watching the breeding research, vaccines or disease-resistant breeds would do little to help increase production in the short term, said Feng Yonghui, chief analyst.