African plague symptoms people. Is swine fever dangerous to humans? Measures to prevent and eliminate ASF

Not so long ago, a terrible disease for pig breeders swept across Russia - African swine fever. hallmark this contagious viral disease is very high percent mortality and infection in pigs. A large number of very conflicting information, including the Internet, non-standard measures to counteract the spread of the disease, raise numerous questions among pig farmers and the general population. Let's try to clarify these questions.

Origin and prevalence

The disease was first discovered, registered, studied and described at the beginning of the 20th century (1921) by the English researcher Montgomery R. in East Africa. The disease is called East African fever, Montgomery's disease or African swine fever.

Initially, the areas of the South and South were gradually affected by this disease. Central Africa. African plague pigs in 1957 was brought to Europe, where its distribution was quickly localized. In the 1970s, an outbreak of African swine fever marked its presence on the American continent. In 2008, it was first registered in Russia and the post-Soviet countries.

Such a wide spread of the disease around the world is due to many reasons:

• Migration of the population by countries of the world;
• Intensive development of economic relations between states;
• The spread of pig farming and the massive consumption of pork by humans.

But most main reason is the impossibility of complete destruction of the ASF virus in nature. The constant existence of epizootic foci in African countries, as well as Spain and Portugal, where wild boars-virus carriers and argas ticks are involved in the enzootic process - carriers of the disease from one individual to another.

The causative agent of the disease

African swine fever virus is a DNA-containing virus that belongs to the iridovirus family. Differs in very high resistance to chemical and physical impact, long-term preservation in biological and external unfavorable environments. It can be destroyed by heat treatment (over 60 °), direct exposure to formalin or chlorine-containing preparations.

In pig products (meat and lard), the virus persists for up to 155 days, at a temperature of 18-24 ° - up to 18 months, at negative temperatures - for several years, in the premises of pigsties and animal waste (manure) - about 3 months.

African swine fever can get sick along with domestic pigs, as well as wild pigs and pigs of any age, gender and breed. The disease can strike animals at any time of the annual cycle. According to long-term observations, in the prosperous states of America and Europe, epizootic foci occur more often in winter and spring, during cold weather.

The source of the outbreak of ASF are sick, infected (during the incubation period), as well as recovered animals. From the moment of primary infection to the appearance of signs of the disease, it takes up to 7 days.

Methods of infection:

1. Direct contact with infected individuals;
2. Infected kitchen waste, water;
3. Use of tools, care items for sick or dead animals for healthy ones;
4. Contact with secretions, corpses, waste from slaughter and cutting of carcasses of infected pigs;
5. Not passed heat treatment compound feed and grain mixtures;
6. Intermediate carriers of the disease are people, wild and poultry, animals, rodents, and insects.

Until now, there is no vaccine for this disease, and there are no drugs that could cure it. Mortality of diseased animals is up to 100%.

For humans, African swine fever does not pose an immediate danger. Pig products can be used as food after prolonged heat treatment (boiling, frying), but smoking does not destroy the virus.

It is necessary to correctly understand the requirements of the authorities for the complete destruction of diseased pigs, since a person can become a spreader of the ASF virus for independent reasons. The occurrence of the disease causes enormous economic damage, therefore, in Russian Federation actions (inaction) that led to the disease or the spread of African swine fever epizootics are punishable by criminal and administrative liability.

Symptoms of the disease

Clinical signs of African swine fever in early stage very similar to the symptoms of other diseases. First, the body temperature suddenly rises to 42 ° C, shortness of breath appears, thirst increases, appetite disappears. Pigs have bouts of vomiting, paralysis can be observed hind limbs. The following symptoms, observed in pigs, are inherent only to African plague: the appearance of red-violet spots - on the abdomen and inner surface legs, on the neck, patch and tail, at the base of the ears.

The duration of the incubation period of ASF depends on the condition of the animal, the number of virions that have entered the body, and the severity of the course. African swine fever can occur at lightning speed (which is why it is so dangerous), acutely, subacutely, very rarely chronically.

Lethal outcome occurs from 1 to 5 days. Mortality is most often 60%, but recovered pigs and piglets are virus carriers and spreaders of ASF for the rest of their lives and when reinfection are dying.

Pathological changes (symptoms) are numerous and quite characteristic:

• Numerous hemorrhages on the mucous membranes, skin, serous membranes;
• Increase lymph nodes and internal organs (especially the spleen);
• Interlobular pulmonary edema;
• Karyorrhexis of the liver and disintegration of the nuclei of the lymphatic fluid.

ASF is a disease that should not be confused with classical plague. It's absolutely various diseases caused by various pathogens. Diagnosis of African swine fever is carried out by specialists and is established on the basis of collected data, bioassays and laboratory tests.

Measures to combat the spread and prevention of ASF

When identifying the slightest sign Since the genome of African swine fever has appeared in the pig farm, immediate measures are being taken to localize the focus of the epizootic and prevent the territorial spread of the disease.

The fight against African swine fever includes:

1. The imposition of strict quarantine on settlements, farms, pig farms and complexes in which ASF has been detected;
2. All pigs in the epizootic focus are slaughtered by a bloodless method;
3. Absolutely all carcasses are burned without being taken out of the territory of the established quarantine area;
4. The corpses of fallen artiodactyls, food residues, manure, dilapidated buildings, inventory are burned on the spot;
5. Pig holding areas that cannot be burned are thoroughly disinfected;
6. Operations are being carried out to exterminate ticks, rodents, insects and stray animals in this territory;
7. All the above activities are also carried out within a radius of 20 km from the identified infection zone;
8. Within 30 days after all events, it is forbidden to sell in the markets and export any livestock products outside the established area;
9. During the next 6 months, the export of crop products from the specified area is prohibited;
10. During the next year it is forbidden to breed pigs in this area in any farms.

Once again, I would like to remind you that African swine fever cannot be cured, its spread can only be stopped by effective and strict preventive measures. For owners of pig farms, you can bring following tips to prevent infection of livestock on their own farm with African swine fever:

1. Exclude visits to your farm by unauthorized persons;
2. Transfer animals to the mode of keeping without walking;
3. Regularly carry out measures to destroy small rodents and blood-sucking (fleas, ticks) insects;
4. For feeding to animals, use feed only industrial production, subject them to heat treatment at a temperature exceeding 80 ° C;
5. Eliminate the possibility of wild and stray animals and birds (boars, dogs, cats, crows and others) entering the pig farm, which may be carriers of the disease;
6. Prevent the use of untreated inventory on the pig farm, the entry into the territory of vehicles that have not undergone special processing;
7. Do not slaughter animals without an examination by a veterinarian and the conclusion of veterinary authorities on the state of health of pigs;
8. Before buying animals, ask the veterinary service about the safety of the area in relation to ASF, ask the seller for a veterinary certificate on the health of the sold piglets and pigs. Purchased animals should be quarantined for a week before joining the main herd;
9. Be sure to vaccinate animals against possible infectious diseases (porcine erysipelas, classical plague and others), establish a plan for the inspection of the livestock of the pig farm by a veterinarian;
10. Cases of unexpected death or slaughter of pigs should be reported immediately to the appropriate veterinary authorities. In no case should you throw in landfills or bury the corpses of dead pigs yourself, do not try to process such pork - such actions are prohibited, because they can cause the spread of African plague.

It is likely that some of the recommendations will seem difficult to implement, and may be useless in an individual farm, but only the strict implementation of all of the above measures will help you protect your pigs from a terrible infection. Remember that only the suspicion of African plague infection will send the entire pig farm to forced slaughter and lead to huge losses. Looking at this perspective, any sane person would agree that strict preventive measures are the lesser evil.

Since ancient times, outbreaks of various epidemics have wiped entire cities off the face of the earth. Often, not only people, but also animals and insects become victims of diseases. There is nothing more deplorable for livestock breeders than merciless extinction.

One of these terrible diseases- African plague, which is not dangerous to humans, but it is very important to know the symptoms, be able to diagnose and prevent the disease.

What is African swine fever

African swine fever, also known as African fever or Montgomery's disease, is infection, characterized by fever, inflammatory processes and cessation of blood supply to internal organs, pulmonary edema, skin and internal hemorrhages.

African fever is similar in its symptoms to the classical one, but has a different origin - a DNA-containing virus of the Asfivirus genus of the Asfarviridae family. Two antigenic types of virus A and B and one subgroup of virus C have been established.

ASF is resistant to alkaline environment and formalin, but sensitive to an acidic environment (therefore, disinfection is usually carried out with chlorine-containing agents or acids), and remains active at any temperature exposure.

Important! Pork products not subjected to heat treatment, retain viral activity for several months.

Where did the ASF virus come from

The first outbreak of this disease was registered in 1903 in the territory of South Africa. The plague spread among the wild as a persistent infection, and when a focus of virus infection occurred in domestic animals, the infection acquired an acute form with a 100% fatal outcome.

In 1957, the African plague was first noticed in Portugal after the importation of food products from Angola. For a whole year, local pastoralists struggled with the disease, which was eradicated only by slaughtering some 17,000 infected and suspected pigs.

After some time, an outbreak of infection was registered in Spain, bordering Portugal. For more than thirty years, these states have taken measures to eliminate ASF, but only in 1995 they were declared free from infection. Four years later, an outbreak was diagnosed in Portugal again deadly disease.

Further, symptoms of African swine fever have been reported in pigs in France, Cuba, Brazil, Belgium and Holland. Due to the outbreak in Haiti, Malta and the Dominican Republic, all animals had to be killed.
In Italy, the disease was first detected in 1967. Another outbreak of the plague virus was established there in 1978 and has not been eliminated to date.

Since 2007, the ASF virus has been spreading in the territories of the Chechen Republic, Northern and South Ossetia, Ingushetia, Ukraine, Georgia, Abkhazia, Armenia and Russia.

African plague causes enormous economic damage associated with forced slaughter all pigs in the outbreaks of diseases, quarantine and veterinary and sanitary measures. Spain, for example, suffered a loss of $92 million due to the eradication of the virus.

How does ASF infection occur: causes of infection with the virus

The genome infects all livestock of wild and domestic animals, regardless of age, breed and quality of their content.

Important! The source of the deadly disease can be food waste that is added to feed for pigs without proper treatment, as well as pastures in infected areas.

Symptoms and course of the disease

Incubation period illness is approximately two weeks. But the virus can also appear much later, depending on the condition of the pig and the amount of genome that has entered its body.

Did you know? The structure of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs and their blood composition are close to human. Gastric juice Animals are used to make insulin. In transplantation, donor material from piglets is widely used. And the human breast milk has a similar amino acid composition to pork.

There are four forms of the disease: hyperacute, acute, subacute and chronic.

External clinical indicators of the animal in the hyperacute form of the course of the disease are absent, death occurs suddenly.

In the acute form of African swine fever, the following [signs of the disease] appear:

• body temperature up to 42 ° C;
• weakness and depression of the animal;
• purulent discharge mucous eyes and nose;
• paralysis of the hind limbs;
• severe shortness of breath;
• vomit;
• difficult fecal eruption or, conversely, bloody diarrhea;
• skin hemorrhages in the ears, lower abdomen and neck;
• pneumonia;
• dysmotility;
• premature abortion of inseminated sows.

• bouts of fever;
• state of oppressed consciousness.

The chronic form is characterized by:

• bouts of fever;
• non-healing damage to the skin;
• difficult breathing;
• exhaustion;
• lagging behind in development;
• tendovaginitis;
• arthritis.

Diagnosis of African plague

The ASF virus appears as purple-blue spots on the skin of animals. In the presence of such symptoms, it is important to as soon as possible ascertain symptoms and isolate animals.

For an accurate diagnosis of the virus, comprehensive examination infected livestock. After the clinical research a conclusion is made about the cause and route of infection of infected pigs.

Bioassays and studies carried out in the laboratory make it possible to determine the genome and its antigen. The decisive factor for the detection of the disease is the analysis for antibodies.

Important! blood for serological study enzyme immunoassay take both from long-term ill pigs and from individuals in contact with them.

For laboratory testing, a blood sample is taken from infected cattle, and from dead bodies- fragments of organs. The biomaterial is delivered as soon as possible, in individual packaging placed in a container with ice.

Measures to control the spread when African plague is detected

Treatment of animals, with a high degree of contagiousness of the infection, is prohibited. A vaccine against the ASF virus has not yet been found, and the disease cannot be treated due to a permanent mutation. If earlier 100% of infected pigs died, today the disease is increasingly chronic and proceeds without symptoms.

Important! When a focus of African plague is discovered, it is necessary to subject the entire livestock to bloodless destruction.

The territory of the slaughter should be isolated, the corpses should be burned in the future, and mixed with lime and buried. Unfortunately, only such strict measures will help prevent the further spread of the virus.

Contaminated feed and animal care items are also burned. The territory of the pig farm is treated with a hot solution of sodium hydroxide (3%) and formaldehyde (2%).
Cattle at a distance of 10 km from the focus of the virus are also slaughtered. A quarantine is declared, which is canceled after six months in the absence of symptoms of African swine fever.

The territory infected with ASF is forbidden to be used for breeding pig farms for a year after the lifting of quarantine.

Did you know? The largest farrowing in the world was recorded in 1961 in Denmark, when 34 piglets were born from one pig at once.

What to do to prevent ASF disease

To prevent infection of the farm with African plague, it is necessary carry out disease prevention.

1. What is ASF?

ASF is highly contagious infectious disease domestic pigs and wild boars. The causative agent of ASF is a virus that is very stable in the external environment and can survive up to 100 days or more in soil, manure or chilled meat, 300 days in ham and corned beef. In frozen meat, the virus remains viable for 15 years. On boards, bricks and other materials, the virus can survive up to 180 days.

Infected pigs shed the ASF virus in urine, feces, nasal, eye and other secretions. Healthy animals become infected through contact with sick pigs or their carcasses, as well as through feed (especially through food waste containing residues of slaughter products from infected pigs), water, care items, vehicles contaminated with secretions from sick animals.

2. Symptoms

From infection to the appearance of the first clinical signs illness can take from 3 to 15 days. At acute course disease, sudden death of animals is possible or within 1-5 days after the onset of symptoms: fever body (up to 42 °C), rapid breathing and redness of the skin of various parts of the body, more often the ears, chest, abdomen and limbs. There may also be bloody diarrhea, coughing, bloody discharge from the nose, convulsions, and paralysis of the limbs.

3. Know!

For ASF outbreaks (up to 45% of total disadvantaged points in the country) led to the feeding of uncooked food waste to pigs.

In this regard, despite their availability and cheapness, do not feed food waste to pigs, especially those obtained from catering points that are questionable in terms of ensuring biological safety. (roadside cafes, barbecue, etc.) d.).

Of particular danger in this regard are public catering facilities located on roads passing through regions of the Russian Federation that are unfavorable for ASF.

Using food waste as feed for pigs in order to reduce the cost of the final product, you run the risk of being left without food for a long time. sole source income for yourself and your family members.

Another source of ASF infection in pigs is slaughterhouse waste, the remains of raw meat from wild boars.

Compound feed and grain products without veterinary accompanying documents, purchased from various merchants and sold from vehicles that arrived in your region from other constituent entities of the Russian Federation or neighboring countries, are also elevated source danger to your farm.

There have been cases of disease in pigs after feeding them with corn left in the fields after harvesting, since such fields are often visited by wild boars, and / or grass top dressing mowed at the borders of the forest in the subjects in which they were registered ASF cases.

In addition, visiting and caring for animals in everyday clothes and shoes, in which you could previously visit another farm, pose a threat. “Gifts” in the form of leftover feed, pigs or meat products received by you from ASF-affected areas, due to various circumstances (inefficiency of quarantine measures, latent (without manifestation of clinical signs) course of the disease) can do you a disservice and lead to irreparable consequences.

4. Measures in establishing the diagnosis of ASF

When diagnosing "African swine fever" at an unfavorable point (household, locality, area) quarantine is imposed. According to its terms, all pigs are destroyed in the focus of infection, and within a radius of up to 20 km from the focus, all pigs, pig products, feed are subject to seizure and destruction. When carrying out quarantine measures, low-value inventory and wooden buildings are subject to destruction.

It is important to know that the disinfection of utility rooms (sheds, sheds, bases, etc.) etc.), constructed from materials having a porous structure (adobe bricks, foam blocks, bricks, expanded clay concrete blocks (except facing), etc.) e.), does not guarantee 100% destruction of the virus due to its ability to penetrate deeply into the structure of these building materials and remain in them for a long time.

Only strict compliance with all quarantine measures prescribed -the only way fight the disease.

5. What to do?

To prevent the introduction of the disease, you must:

1. keep pigs in enclosed spaces or securely fenced, isolated places, to prevent the free range of pigs, their contact with other animals;

2. regularly clean and disinfect premises where animals are kept. Constantly use change of clothes, shoes, separate equipment for caring for pigs;

3. exclude feeding pigs with feed of animal origin and food waste without thermal (boiling) processing, buy feed only industrial production or boil it for three hours;

4. not to allow visits to farms, livestock farmsteads by unauthorized persons;

5. do not buy live pigs without veterinary accompanying documents, do not import / export pigs and pig products without the permission of officials of the state veterinary service, register pigs in the local administrations of districts and settlements;

6. not to carry out house-to-house slaughter and sale of pork without veterinary pre-slaughter inspection of animals and veterinary and sanitary examination of meat and slaughter products by specialists of the state veterinary service;

7. do not buy meat products in places of trade that are not established for these purposes by the local administration;

8. in the event of signs of illness in pigs or their sudden death, immediately contact the state veterinary service;

9. be sure to provide a livestock of pigs for veterinary examination, vaccination (against classical swine fever, erysipelas) and other processing;

10. do not throw away animal corpses, waste from their maintenance and processing to landfills, roadsides, dispose of biowaste in places determined by the administration of the rural settlement;

11. do not process the meat of dead or forcedly slaughtered pigs - this is prohibited and can lead to further spread of the disease;

12. do not use water from streams and small rivers with a calm current flowing through forests inhabited by wild boars for watering animals.

When infectious diseases occur (incl. h. ASF), in addition to violations of veterinary rules for keeping, slaughtering, moving animals, all circumstances that contributed to the emergence and spread of the disease will be taken into account, which will affect not only administrative and criminal liability, statutory, but also on the payment of compensation for alienated animals and livestock products.

From time to time, farmers and buyers of their products are concerned about outbreaks of African swine fever, which is not only highly contagious, but also has a high mortality among animals. The virus infects the entire herd, regardless of the conditions of detention, age and breed of the animal, and the quality of nutrition. Therefore, farmers are interested . The article will discuss the methods of prevention and action recommended by veterinarians when symptoms of this disease appear.

Learn about African plague signs and prevention methods

African swine fever: symptoms, photos

African swine fever (ASF for short) is also known as Montgomery's disease and swine fever. The virus is transmitted by contact through contaminated food and water. Spread the infection not only pigs, but also other animals. Infection is possible through bedding or any other surface that sick cattle have touched.

At the first symptoms, it is unlikely that a farmer or other specialist will be able to identify swine fever. The reason is that at the first stage the disease has no specific manifestations. Primary signs African swine fever are:

Pictured are signs of African swine fever

• a sharp increase in temperature to exorbitant numbers;
• lack of appetite or complete failure from food;
• strong thirst;
• palpitations (breathing becomes heavy and noisy);
• lethargy;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• vomit.

All of the symptoms listed are common in many infections, so the farmer may not be able to link the signs of the disease to ASF. However, symptoms that may indicate Montgomery's disease will soon appear, namely:

• hemorrhages and cyanosis on the abdomen, legs, muzzle;
• hematemesis;
• diarrhea with blood;
• paresis and paralysis.

There is no cure for African swine fever

Lightning forms of African plague can cause the death of an animal during the day, however, there are cases of a sluggish manifestation of the disease. Pigs die in approximately 70-80% of cases, but even surviving individuals become carriers of the virus, and therefore must be slaughtered. For staging correct diagnosis it is worth notifying the local veterinary service, which will conduct a livestock examination and laboratory diagnostics.

ASF prevention and treatment

The main problem is that there is no cure for African swine fever, and all infected individuals and those who have come into contact with them are subject to bloodless slaughter. The corpses of slaughtered pigs must be burned, and the ashes are mixed with concentrated bleach and buried. The same applies to leftover feed and tools that were used in caring for the herd. Quarantine is introduced in the district, the premises are treated with special disinfectants.

Timely prevention helps to prevent ASF

• timely vaccination according to the order of the veterinary service;
• exclude free range of animals;
• regularly destroy blood-sucking insects and rodents in pigsties;
• food for pigs of animal origin must undergo heat treatment;
• do not try to hide the outbreak of infection, but immediately contact the veterinarians.

The swine fever virus does not affect humans, but it becomes a carrier of infection. That's why public services strictly monitor compliance with all recommended measures when identifying infected livestock.

Video about African swine fever or Montgomery's disease:

A particularly dangerous diseaseAfrican swine fever, signs of the disease, photo given in the article for early diagnosis symptoms. A quick response will help to significantly reduce the spread of the pathogen and the mass death of animals. Continue reading on

The first knowledge of Montgomery's disease, or the fever known as African swine fever, came from South Africa in the early 20th century. Gradually, she moved to the territory of Portugal, to Spain, the countries of Central and South America, and at the end of the century was noted in the regions of Eastern Europe and Asia. The disease, originally prevalent in wild boar populations, has begun to threaten domestic pig populations.

Description of the disease

ASF is an infectious disease that causes fever, hemorrhagic diathesis, inflammation and necrosis of internal organs in pigs.

During the autopsy of animals that died from ASF, in connective tissues found numerous hemorrhages. Internal organs- liver, kidneys, spleen - enlarged. Appearance the lymph of dead pigs often looks like a solid blood clot. in chest and abdominal cavity serous hemorrhagic fluid is collected with an admixture of fibrin and blood. There is pulmonary edema.

Symptoms of the disease are similar to classic swine fever, but have a different origin. African swine fever is caused by a DNA-containing virus, Asfivirus, from the Asfarviridae family, while classical swine fever is caused by a different species, Pestivirus, from the Flaviviridae family. Several seroimmune and genotypes of the ASF virus have been identified.

The plague genome is resistant to impact acid environment(pH from 2 to 13), survives in a wide temperature range, retains its activity during drying, decay and freezing. For several months, the virus can persist in pork products that have not undergone high heat treatment.

How infection occurs

African fever is transmitted through oral cavity and skin through direct contact between infected pigs and healthy animals.

The number of mechanical carriers of the ASF genome includes birds, small rodents, people who have been in infected areas, vehicles transporting sick pigs.

Plague pathogens persist in food waste, which is added untreated to livestock feed. Pastures in disadvantaged areas can become a source of infection.

Like classical swine fever, the fever native to Africa affects livestock regardless of age and breed.

Symptoms of the disease

The incubation period for ASF is 5 to 15 days. On practice clinical picture may appear later, several weeks after infection. Much depends on the number of virions that have entered the body and the condition of the animal.

The disease in pigs can occur in different form: hyperacute, acute, subacute and chronic.

With a hyperacute form of the plague fatal outcome comes suddenly. There are no external clinical indicators.

The symptoms of the acute form of swine disease are heat- 40.5-42 ° C, depression, weakness, severe shortness of breath, purulent discharge from the eyes and nostrils, paresis of the hind limbs. Possible vomiting, constipation, or vice versa - bloody diarrhea. On the skin, in the area of ​​​​the ears, the lower part of the neck, abdomen and perineum, bruises appear. The disease may be accompanied by pneumonia. Pregnant wombs infected with ASF are aborted. The disease progresses within 1-7 days. A few hours before death, the body temperature drops below normal, the animal falls into a coma and soon dies.

The subacute course of the African plague is more easy temper. The animal suffers from bouts of fever, is in a depressed state. After 15-20 days, it dies, most often from heart failure.

The chronic form of ASF disease is accompanied by secondary bacterial infections. Characteristic symptoms: periodic bouts of fever, difficulty breathing, non-healing wounds on the skin. The animal lags behind in development, exhausted. The virus infects the synovial membranes surrounding the tendons, which leads to the development of tendovaginitis. Inflammatory process causes arthritis.

Diagnosis of African plague

The appearance on the body of characteristic cyanotic spots should be perceived as alarm signal and be of interest to the veterinary service. This is how the African plague virus manifests itself. It is important to ascertain symptoms as soon as possible and isolate suspicious animals.

To make a diagnosis, a comprehensive examination of diseased cattle is carried out. The conclusion is made on the basis of clinical signs and pathological changes. It is necessary to establish the cause of infection and the route by which African swine fever entered the herd.

biological samples and laboratory research, carried out using effective diagnostic technologies, make it possible to isolate the virus and its antigen. An analysis is also taken for antibodies, the presence of which is a decisive factor for identifying the disease.

Classical swine fever is very similar in symptoms to the African version. Differential diagnosis helps to accurately determine the type of disease.

Is there a cure?

Given the high degree of contagiousness, treatment of pigs is prohibited.

In addition, African fever is not curable, although scientists are looking for a vaccine against ASF. The difficulty is that the virus is constantly mutating. If earlier the lethality from this type of plague was 100%, now the disease in pigs is increasingly asymptomatic and takes on a chronic form.

Disease prevention

Measures to be taken when a disease is detected

So far, it has not been possible to develop effective preventive measures that are guaranteed to avoid infection with ASF. The actions available today are aimed at suppressing outbreaks of plague, containing the further spread of the virus, and reducing the risk of infection to healthy animals.

In case of detection of a focus of plague, all livestock located in the epicenter of ASF is subject to complete bloodless destruction.

The corpses of pigs, contaminated feed, livestock care items are burned. The ash is mixed with lime and buried. Pig farms and surrounding areas are treated with hot 3% sodium hydroxide solution, 2% formaldehyde solution.

Animals located at a distance of 10 km from the outbreak of ASF are cut and processed into canned food. A quarantine is declared in the area, which is removed six months after the last case of pigs. The territory where the virus was detected cannot be used for keeping livestock for another year after the quarantine is lifted.

Measures to prevent the disease

To protect the safety of animals, owners of private subsidiary farms must comply with the following rules:

• Timely vaccinate pigs against classical distemper and erysipelas, in accordance with the requirements of the veterinary service. This will strengthen the animal's immunity and make it less susceptible to the African fever virus.
• Keep livestock in a fenced area and indoors, not allowing free range.
• Regularly, 2-3 times a month, treat animals and the room from blood-sucking insects.
• To carry out the fight against small rodents, carriers of the virus.
• Do not feed animal products to pigs unless they have been highly cooked. This is especially true for feed, which includes processed waste from meat processing plants,
• Don't do smuggling. It is possible to import pigs only after agreement with the State Veterinary Service.
• Immediately report all cases of animal disease to the appropriate authorities, even if there is the slightest suspicion of a virus.

Precautions to combat ASF are taken at the state level. There are rules and restrictions that apply to the importation of animals and food products up to a ban on imports meat products from countries visited by the swine fever virus.

Negative consequences for people

African swine fever is harmless to human health. The virus only infects pigs. Since the ASF genome is killed by heat treatment above 70°C, animal meat can be eaten. Although the chief sanitary doctor of Russia suggested that the constantly mutating virus could become potentially dangerous for people in the future.

The negative consequences of the disease are expressed in economic damage. To eliminate the focus of ASF, it is necessary to apply radical measures. Large losses of livestock, restrictions in the field of international trade are measured by tangible monetary losses. For example, since 2007, more than 500 outbreaks of African plague have been recorded in Russia. About a million pigs were destroyed, economic losses amounted to more than 30 billion rubles.

I would like to believe that scientists will soon find a vaccine against ASF, and the virus will no longer harm the pig population and the economies of countries.