Alarm is rising across Asia as China continues to fight a
losing battle to contain the spread of African Swine Fever.
The latest news is that there have been several outbreaks in
Tibet and that Myanmar is on high alert.
If it breaks out in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), it
could spread rapidly because many hogs are fed on swill, which typically
contains pork remains, and biosecurity measures will be difficult to implement because there are so many people raising a few pigs.
Reuters reports that the
disease was found in
two counties in Tibet and one district of the city of Linzhi, which is near the
border with India.
David Hadrill, Country Team Leader, Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Emergency Centre for
Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) in Myanmar, said:
“African swine fever is spreading rapidly in the region
right now.
“If or when ASF comes to Myanmar, it may
be impossible to get rid of it. The livelihood impact for pig farmers will be
great.
“Without an effective vaccine or
treatment, which are not on the horizon, typical smallholder pig production,
with low biosecurity, may struggle to survive. It’s going to cause major
challenges to livestock-keeping in Myanmar and other countries in the region.”
Wild boar could also
make the disease difficult to control in some parts of the country because boar
are susceptible to the virus.
Despite the rapid
spread of African Swine Fever in the wild boar population of Belgium, so far no
commercial farms there have had an outbreak.
The disease is highly
contagious and almost always fatal to pigs, although harmless to humans.
if it ever gets to Ontario, it is likely to wipe out a significant percentage of the hog population because after two years of heightened biosecurity and plenty of warnings, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus continues to break out with two more cases last week in finishing barns in Perth and Wellington counties.
And if it ever breaks out in Canada, there will be immediate financial pain because exports would cease, and 70 per cent of Canada's pork is exported.
