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African swine fever in wild pigs in Asia and Pacific region
IN September, the World Organisation for Animal Health Regional Repre- sentation for Asia and the Pacific released the report ‘African swine fever in wild pigs in the Asia and Pacific region’.
and population density of wild pig species and the epidemiological role of wild pigs in an ASF outbreak.
vDisease Spread Model has also been developed for African swine fever.
Department of Agricul- ture and Fisheries Queens- land recently launched a new interactive online learning course on the prevention and early de- tection of African swine fever.
Having an up-to-date biosecurity plan in place, which includes feral animal management, is vital for all land man- agers.
It was authored by Brendan Cowled, Madalene Oberin and Alison Hillman from Ausvet, Michael Ward from the University of Sydney and Caitlin Holley from the World Organisa- tion for Animal Health.
More information can be found at minerva- access.unimelb.edu.au/ items/61021c1d-b7c2- 5e82-b749-b4948c0f387c
It covers the potential impacts of ASF, how to prevent its entry and es- tablishment in Australia, and how to recognise and report signs of ASF.
Feel free to contact me at heather.channon@feral pigs.com.au or call 0423 056 045 to discuss your feral pig management is- sues or any information presented in this article.
Given the ecological, population and geograph- ical differences between the areas, it is unknown whether existing studies can be applied to the Asia and Pacific region.
• Trade and cultural links between sites of im- portance and how these may influence ASF risk
For full details, the re- port can be accessed at rr-asia.woah.org/en/ events/reporting-on-af rican-swine-fever-and- wild-pigs-in-asia-and-the- pacific/
The report – commis- sioned by the Standing Group of Experts on Af- rican swine fever in Asia and the Pacific – aimed to:
• Most effective and ef- ficient means of imple- menting smallholder bi- osecurity management to minimise transmission of ASF between wild and domestic pigs
A presentation is also available via this link.
• Review current knowl- edge of ecology and distri- bution of wild pigs in the Asia and Pacific region and their role in swine disease epidemiology and
• Efficacy of alternate and more efficient control
Other knowledge gaps stated in the report that could be addressed in- cluded the distribution
Global ASF Overview – The SowBridge series (July 2022). Presented by Vincent der Beek, Pig Progress. Magenta indicates ASF occurrence 2007-2022 (65). Green indicates eliminated ASF after 2007 (2).
In the Asia and the Pa- cific region, there are 12 species of wild pigs pre- sent from the sus, baby- rousa and porcula genera.
Sus scrofa are very common in the region, present as either endemic wild boar or feral in parts of Southeast Asia, Aus- tralasia and most of the Pacific.
Due to its ecology, dis- tribution and density, this species was regarded as the most relevant to ASF in the region.
For the 11 locally en- demic wild species present in the Asia and Pacific re- gion, ASF threatens these populations with local ex- tinction.
The role of wild pigs in the epidemiology of ASF in the Asia and Pacific region is uncertain.
ASF is only confirmed in s scrofa, bearded pigs or s barbatus and Philip- pine warty pig or s philip- pensis.
There is a lack of wild pigs in this region.
In Europe, wild pigs can act as reservoir or spill- over host of ASF.
The report identified the following knowledge gaps on ASF in the Asia and the Pacific region:
• Understanding of how ASF affects different wild pig species in Asia
• Ecology of wild pig species and how this may influence ASF transmis- sion
• Mechanisms of spread and persistence of ASF in wild boar populations and whether wild pigs are spill-over or reservoir hosts, and if so, where
• Importance of car-
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2022 – Page 13
by HEATHER CHANNON National Feral Pig Management Co-ordinator
• The role of climate and time of the year in the Asia and the Pacific re- gion on transmission
• Social, cultural and practical acceptability of alternative disease control tools.
The Australian Animal
In Australia, the Aus- tralian Bureau of Agricul- tural Resource Economics and Sciences is currently working to update the ge- ographic distribution and density of feral pigs in Australia.
This model simulates the spread and control of ASF in Australian do- mestic and feral pigs.
Any signs of disease should be reported by pro- ducers to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 or their local veterinarian.
While African swine fever in wild pigs has been well researched in Europe, parts of the Caucasus and central Asia, there have been limited studies on ASF in domestic and wild pigs in the Asia and Pa- cific region.
casses in the transmission of ASF
tools for culling pigs in new areas
More information about this work can be found at agriculture.gov.au/abares/ research-topics/invasive- species/distribution-and- impacts
Awareness, prepar- edness and prevention through good biosecurity by all land managers will always be the best meas- ures to mitigate the intro- duction and spread of any disease, including ASF.
It can be accessed through Animal Health Australia’s online learning portal aha. canopihr.com.au/auth/ login/?returnUrl=%2F and is free.
• Role of vectors in dis- ease transmission
To address these knowl- edge gaps across the Asia and Pacific region, a total of fourteen recommenda- tions were made.
• Host density thresholds for persistence of ASF and what level of culling may lead to reduced disease transmission and disease fade-out
Some of the recommen- dations are already being addressed in Australia.
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• Provide recommen- dations to manage wild pig populations, their interface with domestic pigs and other actions to contribute to the control and prevention of African swine fever in the Asia and Pacific region.