OIE and FAO join forces to counter ASF

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease of domestic and wild pigs, which went beyond its natural range (African continent) in the XXI century and since 2007 (emergence in Georgia) has spread to many European and Asia-Pacific countries. According to the immediate notifications and follow-up reports, by early 2021 Europe accounted for about 68% of globally reported outbreaks. However, the greatest losses in the pig industry were inflicted by the outbreak recorded in Asia in 2020, when 6,733,791 animals died that accounted to 82% of the total global losses due to ASF. Just after several years of the current ASF epizootic, without any vaccine or treatment available, it became clear that major problems for the pig industry (mostly for small farmers) as well as destabilization of the global market of pig products were unavoidable. In this regard, in 2014 (Bern, September 2014) a regional standing group of experts on African swine fever (SGE ASF) was established under FAO/OIE GF-TADs umbrella. The aim of the group is to foster closer collaboration between the affected countries, increase transparency and share experience in prevention and control. The work of the permanent expert ASF missions under the GF-TADs umbrella has proven effective and become a model for other regions. A similar group was established in Asia in April 2019 to counter rapid spread of the disease in the Asia-Pacific region, where more than 60% of the world’s pig population is concentrated, and a new permanent ASF expert group for the Americas is being considered. The many-year efforts resulted in the establishment of the FAO/OIE/GF-TADs platform as a progressive mechanism to combat such transboundary disease as African swine fever.