Preventive measures aimed at minimizing the risk of African swine fever virus spread in pig farming systems.

Silvia Bellini,Vittorio Guberti,Domenico Rutili

doi:10.1186/s13028-016-0264-x

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most severe diseases of pigs; it has a drastic impact on the pig industry, causing serious socio-economic consequences to pig farmers and pork producers. In Europe, there are currently two main clusters of infection; one in Sardinia caused by strains of African swine fever virus (ASFV) belonging to genotype I and another in Eastern Europe caused by strains of ASFV belonging to genotype II. The latter is inducing an acute form of ASF and it represents a serious threat to the pig sector. ASF is a disease for which there is no effective vaccine; therefore, prevention has a pivotal role in the control strategy of the disease. This review describes the main preventive measures to adopt to mitigate the risk of ASF spread in pig farming systems.

Highlights

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious and fatal disease of pigs caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) currently classified as the only member of the Asfarviri‐ dae family
Wild boar (Sus scrofa) and feral pigs in general are susceptible to ASFV and they show similar clinical signs and mortality rates as domestic pigs [3]
ASF is a disease for which there is no effective vaccine and its control relies on early detection followed by rapid eradication

Summary

Introduction

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious and fatal disease of pigs caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) currently classified as the only member of the Asfarviri‐ dae family. ASF is one of the most serious diseases of pigs; it can severely affect and disrupt regional and international trade with animals and animal products with a serious socio-economic impact on pig farming. The disease is mainly transmitted by direct contact between infected and susceptible pigs or through the ingestion of ASFV contaminated pork products [1, 2]. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) and feral pigs in general are susceptible to ASFV and they show similar clinical signs and mortality rates as domestic pigs [3]. In 2007, the disease was reported in Georgia, most probably originating from Southeast Africa.

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