Enhancing knowledge and awareness of biosecurity practices for control of African swine fever among smallholder pig farmers in four districts along the Kenya–Uganda border

Abstract

A study was undertaken along the Kenya-Uganda border in four districts of Tororo and Busia (Uganda) and Busia and Teso (Kenya) to understand smallholder farmers' knowledge, practices and awareness of biosecurity measures. Information was collected by administering questionnaires to 645 randomly selected pig households in the study area. In addition, focus group discussions were carried out in 12 villages involving 248 people using a standardized list of questions. The outcome suggested that there was a very low level of awareness of biosecurity practices amongst smallholder farmers. We conclude that adoption of specific biosecurity practices by smallholder farmers is feasible but requires institutional support. There is a clear requirement for government authorities to sensitize farmers using approaches that allow active participation of farmers in the design, planning and implementation of biosecurity practices to enable enhanced adoption.

Modeling the live-pig trade network in Georgia: Implications for disease prevention and control

“…Notwithstanding, when ASF got introduced into the country in 2007, nationwide spread of the disease rapidly occurred, leading to the hypothesis of the important role of indirect transmission pathways (e.g., trade of contaminated pork products that end up being swill fed, the exchange of boar for reproductive purposes, the direct contact of free ranging pigs of different villages, or fomites such as improperly disinfected vehicles or people working in different farms with poor biosecurity measures). Previous studies in backyard pig settings [9, 35] also suggest that, in addition to the normal trade patterns, farmers could attempt to sell their infected pigs to different regions in order to diminish their economic losses. This concept of “emergency sale” was studied by Costard, Zagmutt (9), who concluded that there is a high probability of release of infected pigs into the pig sector through this route, particularly in economically deprived areas, and its consequences should therefore not be overlooked.…”

African swine fever outbreak on a medium-sized farm in Uganda: biosecurity breaches and within-farm virus contamination

“…Thus, early euthanasia or safe slaughter must be considered key for reducing disease transmission and the total amount of virus in circulation. Given the local situation with widespread poverty and related protein deficiency, and considering that ASF is not a zoonotic disease, the authors argue that legal, safe emergency slaughter of selected animals would be a better alternative (Thomson et al 2004; Naziri et al 2015) than the current common practice of panic sales and illegal slaughter (Chenais et al 2015a; Leslie et al 2015; Nantima et al 2016). In addition, the infectiousness of ASF (measured as R 0 ) is not extremely high; Guinat et al (2014) describes low to moderate transmissibility between pigs.…”

“…The authors consider simplicity, adaptability, acceptance, and cost-effectiveness to be vital for success in this regard. One example is the practice of slaughter and sale of sick pigs, as mentioned above (Chenais et al 2015a; Leslie et al 2015; Nantima et al 2016). As these practices are common, they need to be considered while formulating disease control information.…”

“…In the smallholder subsistence farming systems that dominate in low-income countries such as Uganda, farm biosecurity is practically non-existent (Costard et al 2009a; Fasina et al 2012; Dione et al 2015; Leslie et al 2015; Nantima et al 2016). The majority of pigs roam freely at least parts of the year, and even if an enclosure for the pigs is available, animals are frequently found outside the pens (Dione et al 2014; Ikwap et al 2014; Chenais et al 2015a).…”

“…Poverty prevents even simple investments and promotes utilization of all animal protein. The consequences are consumption of meat from animals that have died or been slaughtered upon showing signs of disease, and trade in sick animals or animals that have been in contact with sick animals (Chenais et al 2015a; Leslie et al 2015; Nantima et al 2016). The lack of biosecurity and related continuous circulation of ASF in smallholder settings in endemic areas thus creates a biosecurity challenge for enterprises that aspire at larger-scale pig farming in these areas.…”