EU is desperately looking for an ASF vaccine
African swine fever outbreaks could become soon a nightmare for the European meat industry, as the disease is threatening to spread across the continent.
New measures have been adopted to stop the virus to affect other countries and the rules are to be revised in 2021. By now, according to the map presented by the European Commission, outbreaks have been reported in former USSR states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The disease has been reported in wild boar population in Belgium, near the border of France and Luxembourg (see map).
New measures have been imposed this summer for the member states affected by the disease regarding pig farming, especially for outdoor farms systems, and for wild boar population. The EU legislation regarding the affected areas is fully in line with the OIE international standards. Nevertheless, in order to ensure a higher level of animal health protection, the EU goes beyond the OIE requirements and applies stricter standards. In the current application of regionalisation in Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, for example, no pigs, their semen, embryos or ova are allowed to be moved from the infected area.
At the same time, the European Commission is looking for a vaccine against ASF but that could take a long time. "The Commission has requested to the African Swine Fever EURL (specific mandate EU co-funded) to prepare a valuable document collecting all scientific work, identifying gaps and needs for possible vaccine development and proposing roads to achieve the final goal: the development of an effective and safe vaccine against ASF", says a document released by EC.
As the disease is also present in other regions of the world (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, China, African countries), analysts are predicting a major shift in pork industry. "The spread of African Swine Fever in China – and more recently to Belgium (close to France and Germany) – has substantially altered the outlook for the pork industry around the world. Prospects for improved export demand have grown following recent events, while the potential for the disease to spread globally has grown exponentially. The 13 September discovery of ASF-positive feral pig carcasses in southern Belgium is a cause for serious concern. Feral pig populations in the region are dense – and if the disease is now in the population, it will be difficult to contain its spread. We expect European officials to implement strict biosecurity measures in response, but if feral pigs carry ASF into export-heavy countries like France or Germany, global trade could be significantly impacted. Any disruption in exports from top European trade partners would leave Asia with few options", explained Christine McCracken
Senior Analyst – Animal Protein at Rabobank.
ASF is a viral disease caused by a complex DNA virus that affects only porcine species of all breeds and ages. It appears among pigs, warthogs, bush pigs, European wild boar and American wild pigs.
The disease is present in Africa, mainly in many countries located south of the Sahara, in most of which the disease is endemic. In Western Europe, ASF is still endemic in Sardinia. In 2007, the ASF virus spread to the Trans Caucasus Countries and the Russian Federation.
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