The human factor stands behind ASF spreading
Canada is looking for ways to mitigate the risk of ASF Virus entering the country as the human factor seems to be responsible for the spreading of the disease in Europe and China.
This threat is described as more serious than anything Canada has dealt with in the past by Dr Egan Brockhoff, veterinarian and pork industry analyst and advisor after he visited several countries currently battling the deadly disease.
It moves in a significant way
"From 2007 until 2019, ASF has spread consistently and broadly across Eastern Europe and now into Western Europe. Once again, feeding contaminated waste from international aircraft or ships has been identified as the primary method of moving the virus along. This is a human-driven disease, not an animal-driven disease. Humans are spreading this disease around the world", said the expert during the 2019 Banff Pork Seminar, held last week in Banff, Alberta.
In the last four months, Brockhoff advises that nine European countries have reported 1,000 new cases. The primary modes of transmission are through uncooked pork and the transport of frozen pig meat through Europe and the U.K. "While everyone is aware of the situation in China...this virus is moving throughout Europe and in a significant way," explained Dr Brockhoff, according to Pigg 333 magazine.
Of course, the influence of wild boar population in spreading the disease is another core problem for the current situation in Europe. That could also represent a problem for North American countries where a large population of wild boar is spread from Texas (USA) to Canada. If these animals contracted ASF, it would be almost impossible to eradicate. "When a pig dies, in the forest or a slaughter plant, all of that meat is incredibly infectious. This makes it an easy virus for humans to move - in uncooked product for example," says Brockhoff.
Third, the feed is another high-risk factor in delivering the virus to hog farms as the virus survives well in soy products.
After 10 years
In Russia, the virus is present for over a decade now and Most Russian commercial farms have set-ups for biosecurity that are at levels that surpass most of the world, as observed by Jim Long, President and CEO of Canadian genetics company Genesus Inc.
"Russia got African Swine Fever (ASF) in the mid-2000s. It’s been dealing with it for over ten years. It is still there, there are still breaks, and it hangs over the industry. We have been doing business in Russia since 2006 so many of these are first-hand observations.
Most Russian commercial farms have set-ups for biosecurity that are at levels that surpass most of the world. These include:
- Usually, double fenced facilities.
- Controlled gate entry.
- Fulltime 24 hour per day security guards.
- Some double showers- shower then shower again before entry to barns.
- Minimum 2 night’s downtimes for barns.
- No food brought to farm by employees. Food prepared by the company- no pork served.
- Almost all feed is bulk and pelleted from own feed mills.
- Tire rinse facilities at the entry to the farm site.
- A large land base which has farms not real close to each other.
- Many hogs slaughtered at their own facilities.
- Virtually no small pig commerce- industry 99% farrow to finish complete ownership.
- All commercial pigs raised in indoor confinement.
Despite all these protocols and efforts, there are still African Swine Fever breaks in Russia. You can minimize it but so far it has been impossible to eliminate," explains Mr Long.
Despite that, the Russian swine industry has benefited from the persistence of the virus. "ASF has led to the consolidation of the swine industry. Larger operations with multiple farms have been able to assume the risk of a break. Banks are weary of one owner operations and their ability to withstand all herd killed and a minimum of a 6-month barn being empty before repopulation. In Russia, many new rules regarding bio-security and food safety have squeezed small producers and in some areas, they have been eliminated. This also has favoured consolidation," observes Jim Long.
China, a different story
Nevertheless, China seems to present a different story regarding the spreading of the disease. There are more than 400 million pigs in China and 7 million sows are believed to be in backyard and outside production. "Since the first report in August, African Swine Fever (ASF) has continued to spread in China, with now over 100 cases recorded from 23 provinces. The majority of cases have hit small producers with poorer biosecurity, although recently a herd of 74,000 head was also affected. Several hundred thousand pigs have died of the disease or been culled.
It seems likely that China will be unable to contain the spread of ASF in the coming year, meaning further culling can be expected. Biosecurity remains a challenge for much of the industry. In light of this, expectations are that production will fall somewhat, boosting import demand for pig products", declared Bethan Wilkins, AHDB Analyst, in her latest report.
Canada also has a Canada has a huge backyard pig population. There are about 6,500 premise IDs for commercial hog operations in Canada. But also in Canada, there are about 6,500 small backyard, outdoor hog farms.
A false sense of security
The fact that neither Canada or the United States have never been confronted with ASF is creating a false sense of security, believes Dr Brockhoff. If Canadian producers are going to operate their businesses as they did in the past, the risk of an outbreak is huge. The expert has worked along with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in order to create an action list for the industry:
- Engage Government- Ministers, CFIA, industry partners – build a wall around North America;
- Voluntary ban of high-risk feed ingredients – the government can't do it but producers can make those choices;
- Feed ingredients quarantine – the ones that are still purchased, must be quarantined following proven protocols;
- More border enforcement – Canada currently has 17 sniffer dogs at airports across the country. Due to the high risk of infected meat products being brought into Canada, many more of these dogs are required;
- More traveller awareness – airlines and ships, should play a role in informing passengers;
- CPC working with Animal Health Canada – an organization that will work across Canada to prepare for animal health crises, similar to Swine Health Ontario;
- Communication Cooperation Collaboration – the industry must work together.
He also created a list for producers too:
- Ensure producers are quarantining high-risk feed ingredients for the correct length of time and at the correct temperature;
- Producers should be talking with their feed specialists, nutritionists and veterinarians about biosecurity and feed;
- Stop bringing any kind of pork product into a hog barn;
- Create biosecurity audits and bring the team together to discuss;
- Small farms must be engaged and educated regarding the risks as well.
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