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Tag Archives African swine fever virus

News

U.S. says it will ban pig shipments if fatal hog virus is detected

An arrival of African swine fever in the U.S. would disrupt global pork markets

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Reuters – The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will prohibit shipments of all pigs for at least three days if the nation ever finds a case of a fatal hog disease that has ravaged China’s herd. The federal government is preparing to contain and eradicate African swine fever if it spreads to the United […] Read more
An aerial view of a pig farm in Tauche, Germany.
News

Paradise lost looms for German farmers as swine fever nears

As swine fever is found in wild boar in Poland, many worry infected animals will cross the border

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Reuters – The German state of Brandenburg has erected about 120 kilometres of electric fencing to prevent wild boars infected with African swine fever (ASF) from straying across the border from Poland and infecting its pig herd. Hans-Christian Daniels doesn’t think the barrier will work. “It looks rather inevitable that swine fever will come,” said […] Read more
The number of backyard pig operations in China has aided in the spread of African swine fever.
News

Tackling a more virulent African swine fever

Science Notes: A new vaccine shows promise tackling the latest, tough strain

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Government and academic investigators have developed a vaccine against African swine fever that appears to be far more effective than previously developed vaccines. The research appeared recently in the Journal of Virology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. Currently, there is no commercially available vaccine against African swine fever, which has been devastating […] Read more
There’s international and cross-Canada work being done to plan for a potential outbreak of ASF.
News

Players confident with ASF outbreak response plan

Plan offers a “test” for potential new organization

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Glacier FarmMedia – The federal government and industry partners have expressed confidence in plans to prevent and, if needed, combat an outbreak of African swine fever on Canadian soil. Beyond working with the United States and Mexico, Canada has partnered with the provinces and industry groups to come up with an action plan for ASF. […] Read more
American cases of Senecavirus have started with scours in younger pigs, but in Ontario the cases were first found in sow barns.
Livestock, News

Ontario’s senecavirus outbreak in hogs differed from U.S.

Two southwestern Ontario sow barns were infected in June 2019

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Updated Oct. 24 Ontario’s latest cases of the obscure Senecavirus gave the hog farming sector a chance to practice managing a new disease outbreak. Why it matters: The most significant known risk is that, based on clinical signs alone, Senecavirus is indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease — meaning that when it’s discovered, all pig travel must […] Read more
Getting ready for disease challenges requires national planning.
Livestock

Co-ordinated animal disease response sought

The National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council is working with government and industry representatives

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Glacier FarmMedia – The catastrophic consequences of a potential foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Canada terrify the livestock industry. Different sectors have already experienced the impact of foreign animal diseases like BSE, avian influenza, porcine epidemic diarrhea and bovine tuberculosis, said veterinarian Megan Bergman, head of the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council. Why it […] Read more
A zoning agreement could allow pigs from an area of the country that isn’t affected by disease to continue exporting.
Livestock, News

Canada, EU agree to zoning rules on African swine fever

Zoning principles were already in place through CETA, and what will change is unclear

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Glacier FarmMedia – Canada and Europe have agreed to new zoning arrangements in case African swine fever is discovered in Canada, but it’s not clear what will actually change. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement in early July. The agreement would allow for safe trade of swine products from disease-free zones […] Read more
The launch event for the FAO/OECD Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028 was held recently at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Livestock, News

Swine fever in China among risks to food markets

World monitors of food say global demand will continue to increase

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Reuters – The spread of a deadly pig disease in China that has disrupted the world’s biggest pork market is one of the major risks to a well-supplied global agricultural sector, the FAO and OECD said during a recent report. African swine fever was highlighted in the annual agricultural outlook for 2019-2028 from the Food […] Read more
African swine fever has spread quickly among back yard herds in eastern Asia, but is also now a serious problem in commercial herds.
Livestock, News

Vietnam claims some success in creating African swine fever vaccine

Disease experts are skeptical as a vaccine has been challenging to create so far

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Reuters – Vietnam says it has had initial success in creating a vaccine to fight African swine fever, which has infected farms throughout the Southeast Asian country and prompted the culling of around 10 per cent of its pig herd. African swine fever, which has spread to Laos and North Korea as well after being […] Read more
Wild boar are especially concerning because of their disease transmission potential.
Livestock, News

Wild boar groups small so far in Ontario

There is concern about growing numbers of feral hogs due to their potential role in African swine fever transmission

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Reported sightings of large groups of wild pigs – known as “sounders” – in Ontario are still limited to one or two instances in the Parry Sound/Magnetawan district, although there are reported sightings across much of the rest of the province.. Government and non-governmental scientists tracking the animals’ movements believe Ontario still has the opportunity […] Read more

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