30,000 pigs culled on Romanian industrial farm
30,000 pigs are to be culled in a Romanian farm hit by the African swine fever. Premium Porc Group announced the local authorities in the county of Vrancea that animals within one of its farms are presenting symptoms of ASF virus. The confirmation of an ASF outbreak come this week from the lab so the company must cull at least 30,000 animals to prevent the spreading of the disease.
"We live unprecedented moments in the history of our company. We started the year 2021 hoping that the only fight we will have to dispute will be with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite extremely strict biosecurity rules, recognized throughout the industry, we find ourselves in the situation of sacrificing so many animals. But we will go beyond that and move on building a sustainable business with the over 500 people who are with us," commented Lars Drescher, CEO Premium Porc Group.
For the last few weeks, the farm didn't deliver any pig to the market, so no recall of products was put in place. ASF crisis in Europe is having an impact on more than 13 countries, with Romania and Poland being the most hit by the disease. So far, only the Czech Republic and Belgium have gained the ASF-free status from OIE.
Before 2016, African Swine Fever hadn’t been seen in Europe since 1985, but as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) turned its calendars over to 2021, the highly contagious disease was expected to show up for a sixth straight year.
The disease is endemic in most South-Saharan African countries and plenty active in Asia and Europe, according to the flow of OIE reports.
Since 2016, the world has seen 32,265 ASF outbreaks with 832,698 total cases. Pigs raised for commercial markets accounted for 14,327 outbreaks that made 10.1 million hogs susceptible to the disease. To control the disease, 8.2 million swine have been put to death.
The additional 17,938 outbreaks involved wild boar where 30,634 additional animals have been infected with AFF since the current endemic began.
In its most recent reporting for December 2020, OIE said there are currently new or ongoing outbreaks underway in 23 countries or territories. Eight of them are in Europe and include Germany, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. Twelve are in Asia: People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Timor- Leste, and Vietnam. And Four in Africa, Nambia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.
During the past five years, OIE has taken reports from 60 countries, or 30 percent of its member states, about ASF outbreaks.
For December 2020, Europe was experiencing 51 outbreaks involving swineherds, and 113 involving wild boars. Wild boars infected with ASF often involve only one animal. In Asia, there were 54 new outbreaks and 42 involved boars. In addition to commercial pigs and boars, OIE’s Early Warning System also tracks so-called backyard outbreaks that may involve a family pig or two.
“The global pattern of distribution of ASF in this period (December 2020) reveals a serious deterioration due to the spread of the disease, mainly in Europe and Asia, after the first occurrence in China in 2018,” the international report says. OIE says through its Global Steering Committee, it needs to empower regional alliances in the fight against transboundary animal diseases", says the organisation.
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