CALF_News_December_2019_January_2020

18 CALF News • December 2019 | January 2020 • www.calfnews.net CALF ANIMAL HEALTH Chuteside Manner EXPLORING THE FRONTIER OF ANIMAL HEALTH African Swine Fever Why Should We Care? By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor A s livestock producers, we are informed on an almost-daily basis about the epidemic of African Swine Fever (ASF) marching across the globe. Thankfully, most of us in the United States don’t know or are even interested in the details of this vicious contagion. We have been unaffected thus far by the disease itself since most of us simply raise cattle. The truth of the matter, however, lies in the fact that in the big picture we are contributing to the global protein supply. This includes all meat, poultry and fish. We are feeding the world in a bigger way than simply producing beef. Numbers coming out of China alone (although not necessarily accurate) indi- cate that they have lost more hogs than the entire U.S. pig population, which amounts to 10-15 percent of the global pork supply. That’s considered a conser- vative estimate. LEFT: Can it happen here? Cattle producers must not get complacent about devastating diseases entering our country and industry. It is sometimes impossible to imagine while looking at green grass. The August 25, 2019, issue of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine suggests China’s loss at 60 percent of their swine population. Noel White, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, reported in a May 14, 2009, blog post fromThe Feed Blog,“The out- break is likely to change the global protein landscape for years to come.” Not only is China currently affected, but countries around the Asian Rim, in Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia are under siege fromASF. Implications for U.S. meat export are paramount; our mar- kets will be affected. This article, however, addresses the disease itself and how it can threaten our own pork industry. How did this mess begin? The problem originally began in Africa where soft ticks inhabit the bur- rows of warthogs, perpetuating the virus as a primary vector. It is also endemic (commonly carried) in African bush hogs and, in Europe, giant forest hogs. These wild species never show symp- toms and remain a constant source of infection for domesticated swine. According toWikipedia, porcine (swine) were initially domesticated in North Africa and Eurasia. They were ushered into Southern Africa by the Chinese 600 years ago, and more by the Portuguese 300 years later. Most went to Kenya, a country starving for meat after a rinderpest outbreak had decimated the cattle population. More swine arrived there from a country called Seychelles in 1904 and England in 1905. At that time, free-range pig farming was common, per- mitting domesticated swine contact with the native wart and bush hogs. African Swine Fever was first reported in Kenya in 1907 and has been with us since. ASF was restricted to the Dark Continent until 1957 when it broke in Portugal. From there it spread like a malignancy worldwide. An underlying cause for the messy and irresponsible advancement of ASF is global trans- portation and the feeding of waste food scraps to domestic swine by hog farmers living near airports and shipyards. The movement by sportsmen of wild boar from Eastern European countries to Belgium, to augment game hunting, triggered an outbreak in 2018. Four thousand domestic pigs were slaughtered as a result, and southeast Belgium, heav- ily forested, was declared off limits for recreation. The disease What is ASF? According to the Merck Veterinary Manual , it is a large, double- strand DNA virus. It is highly resistant to a wide pH range and freeze/thaw cycle. ASF will remain infectious for months at room temperature, and unprocessed pork will carry active virus for several weeks. The virus may be considered inactive when meat is cooked for 30 minutes at 158 degrees Fahrenheit. ASF is highly contagious and hemor- rhagic, meaning that swine will hemor- rhage internally. Severe disruption of the