Risk factors associated with occurrence of African swine fever outbreaks in smallholder pig farms in four districts along the Uganda-Kenya border

Nantima, Noelina; Ocaido, Michael; Ouma, Emily A.; Davies, Jocelyn; Dione, Michel; Okoth, Edward; Mugisha, Anthony; Bishop, Richard P.

doi:10.1007/s11250-015-0768-9

Cited by 67 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…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. In smallholder settings in endemic areas, outbreaks of ASF, like other diseases, are largely under-reported (de Balogh et al 2013; Chenais et al 2015a; Nantima et al 2015). As a consequence, the progression of outbreaks and the related impacts are seldom described in detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Chenais

Lewerin

Boqvist

et al. 2016

Trop Anim Health Prod

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In Uganda, a low-income country in east Africa, African swine fever (ASF) is endemic with yearly outbreaks. In the prevailing smallholder subsistence farming systems, farm biosecurity is largely non-existent. Outbreaks of ASF, particularly in smallholder farms, often go unreported, creating significant epidemiological knowledge gaps. The continuous circulation of ASF in smallholder settings also creates biosecurity challenges for larger farms. In this study, an on-going outbreak of ASF in an endemic area was investigated on farm level, including analyses of on-farm environmental virus contamination. The study was carried out on a medium-sized pig farm with 35 adult pigs and 103 piglets or growers at the onset of the outbreak. Within 3 months, all pigs had died or were slaughtered. The study included interviews with farm representatives as well as biological and environmental sampling. ASF was confirmed by the presence of ASF virus (ASFV) genomic material in biological (blood, serum) and environmental (soil, water, feed, manure) samples by real-time PCR. The ASFV-positive biological samples confirmed the clinical assessment and were consistent with known virus characteristics. Most environmental samples were found to be positive. Assessment of farm biosecurity, interviews, and the results from the biological and environmental samples revealed that breaches and non-compliance with biosecurity protocols most likely led to the introduction and within-farm spread of the virus. The information derived from this study provides valuable insight regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures, particularly in endemic areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Chenais

Lewerin

Boqvist

et al. 2016

Trop Anim Health Prod

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“…As a result, producers are reluctant or unable to invest in improving management by confining their pigs, feeding them on commercial rations and providing basic health care (Lekule & Kyvsgaard, ; Penrith et al., ; Verhulst, ). The risks posed by feeding pigs garbage, either as swill or by releasing them to scavenge, and by selling pigs through agents who move from farm to farm, are compounded by panic selling of pigs and infected pork during outbreaks of ASF, which serves to spread the disease (Brown et al., ; Chenais, Boqvist, Sternbgerg‐Lewerin, et al., ; Dione, Ouma, Opio, Kawuma, & Pezo, ; Dione et al., ; Lichoti et al., ; Muwonge et al., ; Nantima et al., ). A survey of pig sales patterns on the border between Kenya and Uganda revealed that producers selling sick pigs tend to seek markets in communities further away from their usual outlets (Lichoti et al., ).…”

Section: Transmission Routes Of Asfv In Domestic Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of African swine fever in Africa today: Sylvatic cycle versus socio‐economic imperatives

Penrith

Bastos

Etter

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

101

119

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African swine fever (ASF) is believed to have evolved in eastern and southern Africa in a sylvatic cycle between common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) and argasid ticks of the Ornithodoros moubata complex that live in their burrows. The involvement of warthogs and possibly other wild suids in the maintenance of ASF virus means that the infection cannot be eradicated from Africa, but only prevented and controlled in domestic pig populations. Historically, outbreaks of ASF in domestic pigs in Africa were almost invariably linked to the presence of warthogs, but subsequent investigations of the disease in pigs revealed the presence of another cycle involving domestic pigs and ticks, with a third cycle becoming apparent when the disease expanded into West Africa where the sylvatic cycle is not present. The increase in ASF outbreaks that has accompanied the exponential growth of the African pig population over the last three decades has heralded a shift in the epidemiology of ASF in Africa, and the growing importance of the pig husbandry and trade in the maintenance and spread of ASF. This review, which focuses on the ASF situation between 1989 and 2017, suggests a minor role for wild suids compared with the domestic cycle, driven by socio‐economic factors that determine the ability of producers to implement the control measures needed for better management of ASF in Africa.

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“…Recent studies have identified a number of risk factors that contribute to in‐country maintenance and spread of ASF. These include presence of slaughter facilities/home slaughter in pig farming communities, indiscriminate disposal of pig viscera and waste materials after slaughter, presence of an infected pig farm in the neighbourhood, uncontrolled access to pigs by farm‐gate buyers collecting pigs and pig products from within farms and veterinarian/paraveterinarians during outbreaks without observance of strict biosecurity, that is, poor implementation of biosecurity measures, salvage sale of survivor and apparently healthy pigs without testing, continuous maintenance of sick and survivor pigs in the herd and delayed response by the veterinary authorities to respond to outbreaks (Dione et al., ; Fasina, Lazarus, Spencer, Makinde, & Bastos, ; Fasina, Agbaje et al., ; Kabuuka et al., ; Muhangi et al., ; Nantima et al., ). Permanent confinement of pigs and exercise of reasonable levels of biosecurity protected farmers from ASF, according to a study on pig production in south‐eastern Nigeria (Nwanta et al., ).…”

Section: Risk Factors Implicated In Maintenance and Spread Of Asfmentioning

confidence: 99%

The African swine fever epidemic in West Africa, 1996-2002

Brown

Penrith

Fasina

et al. 2017

Transbound Emerg Dis

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SummaryAfrican swine fever (ASF) is a contagious, highly fatal, haemorrhagic viral disease that only affects members of the Suidae family. Currently, no vaccine or treatment exists, so the disease has potentially devastating consequences for the pig industries, availability of affordable protein livelihoods and trade. This study aimed to consolidate historical information generated by working towards the control and eradication of ASF in previously unaffected countries in West Africa during 1996Africa during -2002. This descriptive analysis entailed the evaluation and review of archived records and reports of outbreaks, data from veterinary services, veterinary consultants and peer-reviewed publications. Specifically, the analysis focused on establishing the sequence of events in the spread of the disease throughout the region, as well as the possible sources and pathways (mostly human-driven, i.e., movement of pigs and swill feeding). The socio-economic aspects of the epidemic were also assessed. Finally, the prevention and control measures applied were described and evaluated. Major challenges for control that were identified involved lack of capacity to respond to an outbreak of animal disease and the nature of the pig sector in the affected countries. Most of the pigs were produced in low biosecurity subsistence husbandry systems. Actions taken by producers to limit economic losses due to the epidemic (e.g., illegal selling of pigs and infected pork, hiding of outbreaks) increased the risk of spread and frustrated control efforts. The disease has persisted in an endemic state ever since and has negatively affected pig production and marketing in most of these countries. The analysis of this information will allow a better understanding of the disease dynamics in a region infected for the first time, and learning how the prevention and control interventions that were implemented worked or failed. This will help the development of better tailored, sustainable and locally sound interventions. The authors provide a set of recommendations for ASF prevention and control. in an ancient sylvatic cycle between the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and argasid (soft) ticks of the Ornithodoros moubata complex that live in their burrows (Jori et al., 2013;Plowright, Parker, & Peirce, 1969;Thomson, 1985;Thomson et al., 1983). Statistical data on pig production were obtained through FAO-STAT, the corporate statistical database maintained by the FAO through its working directly with countries (FAO, 2015). These data were used in Microsoft Excel to generate graphical representations of pig production in West African countries. ESRI ArcGIS 10

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Risk factors associated with occurrence of African swine fever outbreaks in smallholder pig farms in four districts along the Uganda-Kenya border

Cited by 67 publications

References 13 publications

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

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

Epidemiology of African swine fever in Africa today: Sylvatic cycle versus socio‐economic imperatives

The African swine fever epidemic in West Africa, 1996-2002

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