African swine fever identified in Thailand

January 15, 2022

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The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) announced the first cases of African swine fever (ASF) in Thailand.

The outbreak in Wang Thonglang in the Bangkok Metro area affected three swine that all died.

According to the report, the owner bought these pigs for companion purpose. The first pig arrived in Febuary 2021 and 2 other pigs arrived in August 2021. The pigs started showing clinical sign such as fever stupor and labor breathing in 25 November 2021 and die in early December. The owner sent the pig corpse to Kasetsart University to find out the cause of sudden death on 1 December 2021. Department of Livestock Development (DLD) had confirmed this case by Western Regional Veterinary Research and Development Center and the result was arrived on 10 January 2022.

The following control measures have been applied: ante and post-mortem inspections, surveillance within containment and/or the protection zone, surveillance outside containment and/or the protection zone, traceability, zoning, quarantine, movement control inside the country, disinfection.

Since ASF was first officially reported by China in August 2018, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Myanmar, The Philippines, South Korea, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, including Arunachal Pradesh, Malaysia and Bhutan have been affected.

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African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious, generalized disease of pigs caused by an Iridovirus of family Asfarviridae that exhibits varying virulence between strains and is very hardy to physical and chemical inactivation. The agent can remain viable for long periods in blood, feces and tissues. It can also multiply in its vectors.

It most commonly appears in the acute form as a hemorrhagic fever. Subacute and chronic forms of the disease also exist. Mortality is usually close to 100 percent and pigs of all ages are affected.