What should we know about African swine fever?
What should we know about African swine fever?
African swine fever is a devastating disease of pigs that usually kills sick pigs. There is no vaccine available to protect against the virus. It does not affect humans or other species of animals except domestic pigs and wild boars. It is transmitted through direct animal contact or contaminated food (such as sausages or raw meat).
On the 17th of this month, the Veterinary Services Department confirmed that wild boars were found to be infected with African swine fever in Bidor and Sungkai in Perak and Jerantut in Pahang.
In a statement, the department said the spread of the virus has been controlled and has not affected pigs raised for sale.
However, a week later, African swine fever broke out in seven pig farms in Mastanabata, Malacca.
The measures taken by the Veterinary Services Department to control African swine fever include issuing quarantine notices to the relevant pig farms to restrict the movement of pigs. The pigs from these farms will be destroyed under Section 19 of the Animals Act 1953 (Revised 2013). Pigs from other farms that are confirmed to be uninfected can be slaughtered at approved abattoirs, but the slaughtered pigs and pork cannot be shipped to other states.
The Department of Veterinary Services has assured consumers that African swine fever is not a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, but for safety, pork must be cooked to at least 70掳C for 30 minutes to kill the virus.
The worrying thing is that African swine fever is a contagious, untreatable and often fatal viral infection that is sweeping across pigs around the world. Although humans cannot be infected with the disease, scientists have warned that pigs' physiology is very close to that of humans, so it is possible that mutant strains of the virus will become dangerous to humans in the future.
The most common symptoms of the viral disease are high fever and loss of appetite; other symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and difficulty breathing and standing. There is no cure for this disease and some of its types can cause 100% mortality in some cases. It is different from swine flu.
ASF can be spread through direct contact with infected animals. Wild boars are now believed to be one of the causes of the recent outbreaks. It can also be spread by insects, such as ticks.
Another worrying thing about ASF is that the virus can be spread from one place to another through human faeces or other secretions that humans step on, acting as a mechanical vector for the spread of the virus.
According to the alert issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, ASF was first detected in Malaysia in mid-February this year. At least 300 pigs were tested for the virus. The pigs were from Pitas, Kota Marudu and Beluran in Sabah.
The virus can survive for months in processed meat and years in frozen meat, so meat products are of particular concern for cross-border transmission.
It is generally believed that the disease started in East Africa and spread through contaminated pork products. For many years, African swine fever was mainly found in Africa. Although there was an outbreak in Europe in the 1950s, it took decades to eradicate it. In 2007, the virus was discovered in Georgia, and despite concerted efforts, it has since spread widely, first through Eastern Europe to Russia and most recently to Western Europe, where it was found in wild boars in Belgium. The virus has now jumped to China, a country that raises half of the world's pigs, and now appears to be spreading rapidly.
Governments around the world are now stepping up their preparations to protect their domestic pig industries. Denmark has long considered whether to build a wall to keep out wild boars. France is also planning to build a wall on its border with Belgium. Germany has relaxed its laws on hunting wild boars as part of a plan to prevent outbreaks of the disease.
There are reports that the African swine fever virus can survive for a long time in raw meat, or even cured meat. The virus has been found to survive for more than a year in some hams. Infection through pork and feeding pigs with meat scraps is one of the ways African swine fever spreads throughout Eastern Europe and China.
Since meat-containing foods and meat products can spread the African swine fever virus, the relevant authorities in our country should immediately ban the use of swill (leftovers) to feed pigs.
Statement on December 29, 2021
Knowledge source: https://consumer.org.my/zh/%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%8E%E9%9D%9E%E6%B4%B2%E7%8C%AA%E7%98%9F% E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E8%AF%A5%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93%E4%BA%9B%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%EF%BC%9F/
African swine fever is a devastating disease of pigs that usually kills sick pigs. There is no vaccine available to protect against the virus. It does not affect humans or other species of animals except domestic pigs and wild boars. It is transmitted through direct animal contact or contaminated food (such as sausages or raw meat).
On the 17th of this month, the Veterinary Services Department confirmed that wild boars were found to be infected with African swine fever in Bidor and Sungkai in Perak and Jerantut in Pahang.
In a statement, the department said the spread of the virus has been controlled and has not affected pigs raised for sale.
However, a week later, African swine fever broke out in seven pig farms in Mastanabata, Malacca.
The measures taken by the Veterinary Services Department to control African swine fever include issuing quarantine notices to the relevant pig farms to restrict the movement of pigs. The pigs from these farms will be destroyed under Section 19 of the Animals Act 1953 (Revised 2013). Pigs from other farms that are confirmed to be uninfected can be slaughtered at approved abattoirs, but the slaughtered pigs and pork cannot be shipped to other states.
The Department of Veterinary Services has assured consumers that African swine fever is not a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, but for safety, pork must be cooked to at least 70掳C for 30 minutes to kill the virus.
The worrying thing is that African swine fever is a contagious, untreatable and often fatal viral infection that is sweeping across pigs around the world. Although humans cannot be infected with the disease, scientists have warned that pigs' physiology is very close to that of humans, so it is possible that mutant strains of the virus will become dangerous to humans in the future.
The most common symptoms of the viral disease are high fever and loss of appetite; other symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and difficulty breathing and standing. There is no cure for this disease and some of its types can cause 100% mortality in some cases. It is different from swine flu.
ASF can be spread through direct contact with infected animals. Wild boars are now believed to be one of the causes of the recent outbreaks. It can also be spread by insects, such as ticks.
Another worrying thing about ASF is that the virus can be spread from one place to another through human faeces or other secretions that humans step on, acting as a mechanical vector for the spread of the virus.
According to the alert issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, ASF was first detected in Malaysia in mid-February this year. At least 300 pigs were tested for the virus. The pigs were from Pitas, Kota Marudu and Beluran in Sabah.
The virus can survive for months in processed meat and years in frozen meat, so meat products are of particular concern for cross-border transmission.
It is generally believed that the disease started in East Africa and spread through contaminated pork products. For many years, African swine fever was mainly found in Africa. Although there was an outbreak in Europe in the 1950s, it took decades to eradicate it. In 2007, the virus was discovered in Georgia, and despite concerted efforts, it has since spread widely, first through Eastern Europe to Russia and most recently to Western Europe, where it was found in wild boars in Belgium. The virus has now jumped to China, a country that raises half of the world's pigs, and now appears to be spreading rapidly.
Governments around the world are now stepping up their preparations to protect their domestic pig industries. Denmark has long considered whether to build a wall to keep out wild boars. France is also planning to build a wall on its border with Belgium. Germany has relaxed its laws on hunting wild boars as part of a plan to prevent outbreaks of the disease.
There are reports that the African swine fever virus can survive for a long time in raw meat, or even cured meat. The virus has been found to survive for more than a year in some hams. Infection through pork and feeding pigs with meat scraps is one of the ways African swine fever spreads throughout Eastern Europe and China.
Since meat-containing foods and meat products can spread the African swine fever virus, the relevant authorities in our country should immediately ban the use of swill (leftovers) to feed pigs.
Statement on December 29, 2021
Knowledge source: https://consumer.org.my/zh/%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%8E%E9%9D%9E%E6%B4%B2%E7%8C%AA%E7%98%9F% E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E8%AF%A5%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93%E4%BA%9B%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%EF%BC%9F/
Apr 28,2022