Microbiome Plus

By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

According to information from the Laos Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, seven African swine fever outbreaks have been reported on village farms in Saravane province.

Image/CIA

Based on data given to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), 973 pigs were killed.

ASF has now been reported in six Asia countries since the outbreak was first seen in China last August. In addition to China and Laos; Vietnam, Mongolia North Korea and Cambodia have reported outbreaks.

China and Vietnam have been hit hardest.

Since the China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) confirmed its first African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Liaoning Province on 3 August 2018, 139 ASF outbreaks detected in 32 Provinces/Autonomous Regions/Municipalities/Special Administrative Region. More than 1,133,000 pigs have been culled in an effort to halt further spread.

In Vietnam, since the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) confirmed its ASF outbreaks on 19 February 2019, a total of 58 provinces/cities reported outbreaks, more than 2,600,000 pigs have been culled.

ASF is not a health-risk to humans but only to wild and domestic pigs. The virus often gets introduced to the farm through swill feeding of pigs. There is currently no cure nor is there an effective vaccine or treatment available for ASF. Once pigs are infected, the only measure is to cull the affected pig populations.


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