African swine fever (ASF) reaches northern Russia

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Credit to Lilli of the Francophone Forum


African swine fever (ASF) reaches northern Russia

FAO concerned as pig disease jumps from


southern Russia to the Baltic

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36622/icode/

22 October 2009, Rome? The deadly pig disease African Swine Fever (ASF) has jumped 2,000 kilometres from southern Russia to St Petersburg in north-western Russia.

The latest outbreak was found near the Baltic city on October 20 confirming the worst fears of FAO experts who have been tracking the virus in Georgia and neighbouring countries for several years.

The danger is that ASF - which can not be transmitted to humans - could spread to other regions including the European Union countries, Eastern Europe, the Black Sea basin countries and - in the worst case scenario ? central Asia and even China, which has the largest pig population in the world.

Baltic worries

?Although we have known that the virus has been circulating in the Caucasus ? in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - for several years now, eventually spreading to southern Russia, it is its sudden appearance far away near the Baltic coast that is worrying,? said Juan Lubroth, FAO?s Chief Veterinary Officer.

The virus shows both progressive local spread and also that it can be transported over wider geographic areas through the movement of infected swine or contaminated pork products.

China threatened

?The Baltic Republics together with the Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia, Romania and Bulgaria are directly threatened,? said Lubroth. ?That means there could be possible incursions into the EU and also it could spread across Russia, including eastwards into Siberia and perhaps eventually China.?

Although Moslem populations do not consume pork, Iran, Turkey and central Asia could form a transit point for the virus because of relatively large numbers of wild boar in these areas. The clinical signs of ASF are very similar to classical swine fever virus and the two diseases have to be differentiated by specialised diagnostic laboratories.

?In the light of this outbreak, FAO is advising countries to be vigilant and roll out their early detection and response plans,? said Lubroth. Earlier this year, FAO?s Emergency Prevention System in animal health matters provided regional training courses for veterinary authorities in Ukraine and Belarus.

ASF in pig food

ASF is believed to have entered into the Caucasus through the Black Sea port of Poti, Georgia, where garbage from a ship was taken to a local dump where pigs would come to feed.

Contaminated pig swill - remainders of food, including a pork scrap that is then fed to swine - has also been implicated as a conduit for outbreaks in swine populations in the past.

In a sub-Saharan context the virus is spread through transmission in warthogs and other wild pig species and can be transmitted by a particular type of tick.

Local spread can occur from direct contact between pigs, and direct transmission is a growing problem. ASF existed for decades in the Iberian Peninsula until it was eliminated in the late 1990s.

A very limited focus of the infection is still present in the Italian island of Sardinia. In 1960?s through the 1980s, ASF outbreaks were reported in several European and Caribbean countries and Brazil.

No vaccine yet

There is currently no vaccine against ASF. FAO calls for a renewed effort by laboratories in the US, Europe and the Russian Federation to develop an effective vaccine against ASF. The disease is usually eradicated by the culling of infected animals and strict movement control.

Improved hygiene is production and feeding practices are useful in preventing the introduction of the disease in piggeries and swine holdings. African swine fever is caused by a virus and is not related at all to the H1N1 virus that is responsible for the current human influenza pandemic.

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: African swine fever (ASF) reaches northern Russia

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causative agent of African swine fever. ASFV is a large double-stranded DNA virus which replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells and is the only member of the Asfarviridae family.[1] ASFV infects domestic pigs, warthogs and bushpigs, as well as soft ticks (Ornithodorus spp),which are likely vectors. ASFV is the only virus with a DNA genome that is transmitted by arthropods. The virus causes a lethal haemorraghic disease in domestic pigs, some isolates can cause death of animals within as little as a week after infection. In all of the other species the virus causes no obvious disease. ASFV is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and exists in the wild through a cycle of infection between ticks and wild pigs/bushpigs/warthogs. ASFV was first described after European settlers brought pigs into areas endemic with ASFV and as such is an example of an 'emerging infection'.

The clinical symptoms of ASFV are very similar to classical swine fever virus and the two diseases normally have to be distinguished by laboratory diagnosis.

African swine fever was restricted to the continent that bears its name until 1957 when the disease was reported in Lisbon, Portugal. A further outbreak occurred here in 1960. Subsequent to these initial introductions the disease became established in the Iberian peninsula and sporadic outbreaks occurred in France, Belgium and other European countries during the 1980s. Both Spain and Portugal had managed to eradicate the disease by the mid 1990s through a slaughter policy. During the late 1970s ASFV crossed the Atlantic Ocean and outbreaks were reported in some Caribbean islands, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Major outbreaks of ASFV in Africa are regularly reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (previously called l'office international des ?pizooties (OIE)). The most recent outbreak of ASFV outside of Africa started at the beginning of 2007 in Georgia (country) and has since spread to the neighbouring countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The appearance of ASF in the Western hemisphere at the same time as the emergence of AIDS led to some interest in whether the two were related and a report appeared in the Lancet supporting this in 1986. However, AIDS is now known to be caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), no link between ASFV and AIDS has been proven or is suspected.

additional article info at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_swine_fever_virus