Protecting pigs from pestilence
African Swine Fever is a serious disease that causes fever and bleeding, and ultimately death, in pigs. Very few pigs survive infection and those that do can be contagious. In recent years, the disease has caused devastation to pig herds in Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Nigeria, Togo and, most recently, in Madagascar.
Risk to other regions
Presenting a similar picture to African Swine Fever is another serious pig disease which occurs commonly in Asia - Classical Swine Fever. Although clinically very similar to African Swine Fever, it can be controlled relatively easily with an effective vaccine. There is no such vaccine for African Swine Fever. Confusion over diagnosis of the two diseases can cost countries dearly; as illustrated most recently by Madagascar where Classical Swine Fever was initially suspected to be the cause of pig fatalities there during 1998. It was not until much later that laboratory analysis confirmed the disease to be African Swine Fever. Over 50% of the pigs in affected areas of Madagascar have died or have been slaughtered in a bid to control the disease.
The origin of the disease is still unknown although it is suspected that it may have been introduced with pig products arriving by boat at Fort Dauphin. Clearly the risk of the disease spreading out from the African continent cannot be ruled out. The present situation highlights the urgent need for further research to enable future control strategies to be absolutely effective. Meanwhile, FAO's EMPRES programme urges countries to be heedful of the risk to prevent further devastation of pig herds and people's livelihoods. "People should be vigilant, at all times, for disease symptoms that might be exotic, or alien, to their particular environment. If a case of an unfamiliar disease is suspected, appropriate precautions should be taken and veterinary authorities alerted immediately," says Professor Timothy Obi, who is currently on sabbatical from the University of Ibadan with EMPRES at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Spread and control of African Swine Fever in West Africa
Of the affected countries in West Africa, only Côte d'Ivoire has so far managed to successfully eradicate the disease. To do this required the use of stringent control measures which included the slaughter of affected pigs with restriction of movement of live pigs and pig products out of infected areas. In addition, an effective public awareness campaign was launched to promote the need for prompt reporting of suspected cases to relevant veterinary authorities to assist in detecting pockets of disease. A FAO Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP) project was established to support the Government's control strategies. Eradication was successfully achieved before the end of 1996.
Eradication and control of African Swine Fever has not been achieved in Togo, Benin and Nigeria due to weaknesses in disease surveillance and reporting and limited capacity to mount effective control campaigns. The favoured backyard system for keeping pigs, which allows them to roam freely, results in the unrestricted movement of live animals through porous borders, and the high demand for pork products in these countries all make control efforts very difficult.
To help countries overcome these obstacles; FAO has projects in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Cape Verde for emergency assistance with control of the disease. A Regional TCP is also being run for nine West African countries, including those that are currently free from African Swine Fever, to protect them from infection. Ghana is particularly at risk from the prevailing spread of the disease in Togo and is therefore in a state of alert.
In the long term, disease-resistant breeds of pigs may be a possibility or a vaccine for African Swine Fever may be developed. However, for the foreseeable future, countries will have to rely mainly on effective early warning of emergencies developing and ensure early reaction to them.
