The most recent FAO report on ASF In Asia
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In a follow up to last week's report (see Hong Kong AFCD: 9th Farm Tests Positive for African Swine Fever), Hong Kong's AFCD (Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department) today reports their 10th farm infected since last November, and the 3rd for the new year.
African Swine Fever (not to be confused with `swine flu') does not infect humans, but it does cause huge economic losses and contributes to food insecurity around the world.
ASF is often spread - at least locally - via infected pigs and wild boars (or by infected ticks), but the virus can live for weeks or even months in infected food products, and exported pork products are believed to be a major cause of the international spread of African Swine Fever.
Some excerpts from the latest press release from the AFCD.
Local pig samples test positive for ASF virusWhile the most recent FAO report on ASF In Asia (see graphic at top of blog) shows no reports from Mainland China, the Chinese government has a long history of suppressing reports of the disease (see here, here, and here).
Sunday, January 14, 2024
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (January 14) announced that samples taken from a licensed pig farm in Yuen Long had tested positive for the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus. The present ASF case has been discovered by the AFCD upon a local pig farmer's early report and AFCD's assistance to the pig farmer in following up on a suspected case.
Located within the 3-kilometre monitoring zone of a Yuen Long pig farm where ASF was previously detected, the index pig farm is near pig farms where pig samples tested positive for the ASF virus in the previous month and last Wednesday. This pig farm submitted pig samples on January 13 which were confirmed today by the AFCD as infected. With a preliminary investigation, it is believed that the pigs of the index farm were infected with the ASF virus earlier and has now succumbed to the disease as the incubation period can last up to 19 days.
The AFCD has immediately suspended transportation of any pigs from the farm concerned until further notice according to the contingency plan on ASF. The AFCD is arranging culling of all pigs on the farm, for the sake of prudence. The culling operation will commence this week.
The AFCD has implemented an emergency measure on handling dead pigs on local pig farms on the advice of an international veterinary expert since January 3. All farms are required to collect and submit to the AFCD nasal swab samples from pig carcasses for ASF virus testing. Disposal of carcasses can only be arranged by the farms upon confirmation of a negative result.
An AFCD spokesman said, "Since the incubation period of the ASF virus can last up to 19 days, other pig farms located within the 3-kilometre monitoring zone still present a higher risk of outbreaks. The AFCD will continue to closely monitor the situation of the pig farms and offer recommendations to enhance their biosecurity measures."
