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Every summer and fall for roughly the last decade American county and state fairs have had to deal with swine flu - a disease which can sometimes jump from pigs to humans (see Biosafety At The Fair This Summer) - and have even had to cancel some swine exhibits.
Although that threat continues, this year another porcine disease - one that does not infect humans - is on the horizon; African Swine Fever (ASF).While ASF has never been reported in North America, concerns over its eventual arrival are running high enough that the State of Pennsylvania has ordered new, far more stringent rules for exhibition swine at all venues (see letter below).
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| Letter to Fair Board Members, 4-H Leaders, and FFA Advisors |
The result is that while properly vetted pigs can still be exhibited, all market swine exhibited must be moved directly to slaughter following the exhibition, and breeding hogs and market hogs cannot be on site at the same time (see 2019 Exhibition Swine Quarantine Order FAQs).
Between the logistics of complying with the new rules, and extra costs involved, some venues have decided to cancel swine exhibits entirely.These new rules, and their impacts, are a obviously a bitter pill to hundreds of 4-H and FFA exhibitors who spend most of the year getting ready for their local fair, and a disappointment to thousands of fair goers.
The PennState Extension Office has published a long article (excerpts below) on why these extra precautions have been put in place, and the costs to the industry should ASF begin to spread in the United States.
Swine Exhibitions in Pennsylvania
Swine exhibition requirements in Pennsylvania have changed for 2019 as a precautionary measure of biosecurity due to current global movement of African Swine Fever (ASF). Let's talk about why this disease is a big deal.
Updated: June 17, 2019(Excerpt)Agree or disagree with the order placed on swine exhibitions this summer, this may be the first time that you are really wondering what ASF is, or why it is getting so much attention. This disease commands attention for 3 main reasons:
These reasons essentially amount to: if it gets in, it will be very hard to get out, and there will be a large financial cost in both loss of livestock and control needed to eradicate this virus.
- It is an exceptionally hardy virus, allowing it to survive in a wide variety of environments for exceptionally long periods of time (weeks to years).
- There is no vaccine for this disease. If it gets into your herd, the response is 90-100% mortality from infection or herd depopulation before that point.
- ASF is a global reportable disease that will stop trade agreements. In the U.S., pork exports make up 25% of all pigs produced in the U.S. If ASF gets into the U.S. and can’t be controlled, the price of all hogs will collapse, and likely take down other livestock commodities with it, like poultry or beef.
In Pennsylvania, in addition to the cost of efforts to eliminate the virus, this could also look like the loss of over 2,300 jobs due to the loss of exports alone, and a threat to more than 11,000 jobs as the price of pork plummets. These numbers only reflect the losses from pig and pork production in PA, not counting economic hardships predicted to be observed in other livestock sectors or across the nation.
This virus would impact all pig producers in all markets: commodity, show, local, or specialty markets. The price of pork would drop dramatically, and that drop will likely drag down the price of beef and poultry as well as consumers move to purchase cheaper products.
(Continue . . . )
Six weeks ago, in USDA Enhances Domestic ASF Surveillance Efforts, we looked at plans for enhanced testing and surveillance for ASF in American pigs, in hopes of detecting - and stamping out - any infections as early as possible.
The USDA also recently released a 28-page ASF response plan, in the event the virus turns up on American soil.
In 2013 we saw the arrival of another, far less dangerous porcine virus - PEDV - which is believed to have originated from China (see mBio: PEDV - Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus – An Emerging Coronavirus).While Pennsylvania appears to have enacted the most aggressive rules (so far), other states are undoubtedly considering their own measures, and when to implement them.
Meanwhile, ASF continues to spread in Eastern Europe, Russia, China, and Asia, and threatens to expand it reach. A few past blogs on its progress include:
DEFRA: ASF Outbreak Assessment #21 - Eastern Europe
OIE: ASF Arrives In Laos & FAO Update
African Swine Fever In China: Epizootic or An EpicZootic?
