August 25, 2023

 

ASF spreads to 49 countries, causing 1.5 million animal losses, WOAH report reveals

 

African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious animal disease with a 100% mortality rate in domestic swine and wild boars, has rapidly spread to 49 countries since January 2021, according to a report released by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Down To Earth reported.

 

The WOAH report highlighted that ASF has led to an estimated 1.5 million animal losses since the beginning of 2021, impacting over 0.95 million swine and more than 28,000 wild boars.

 

These affected countries are distributed across five different global regions: Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.

 

Originating in Kenya in 1921, ASF has caused the highest domestic swine losses in Europe (1 million), followed by Asia (0.37 million) and Africa (24,143). The report takes into account the number of animals that have died as well as those that were culled and disposed of due to the disease.

 

The actual losses may be even greater than the reported figures, as the document clarifies that the numbers pertain to losses within affected establishments and do not encompass animals culled in the vicinity of outbreaks as part of disease control measures.

 

In a concerning trend, nine countries have reported ASF for the first time since January 2021, while an additional 10 countries have documented the virus spreading to new areas. This pattern of transmission underscores the ongoing global threat posed by the disease and underscores the necessity of implementing rigorous biosecurity measures, establishing an early reporting and response framework, and maintaining high levels of disease awareness across the value chain.

 

India, which remained ASF-free for nearly a century, reported its first case in 2020, following the virus's appearance in China in 2018, where it devastated porcine populations across Asia.

 

After its initial outbreaks in Assam in January 2020, ASF cases spread to several north-eastern states in India, including Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. The virus subsequently reached other states like Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.

 

Outbreaks were also reported in bio-secure environments, including the Assam government's pig-breeding farm and the ICAR-National Research Centre on Pigs in Guwahati. This resulted in the culling of approximately 292 pigs.

 

India continues to grapple with ASF, with recent cases reported in May and June 2023 from Meghalaya and Mizoram, respectively.

 

-      Down To Earth