More research on African swine fever is urgently needed: No cure, no vaccine and no treatment yet exists for this lethal pig disease

ILRI

The swelling around the kidneys & the muscle hemorrhages shown here
are typical of pigs with African swine fever. Karen Apicelli - USDA.

African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. It kills nearly 100% of the pigs it infects. The good news is that the African swine fever virus does not infect or harm humans. The bad news is that it devastates household and national economies. Particularly in Africa and now in China and Vietnam, it can destroy the livelihoods. More here.

African swine fever (ASF) would be a disaster

There is a ‘clear risk’ the swiftly spreading disease could come here, says leading swine health vet

By Alexis Kienlen FOLLOW

Reporter Alberta farmer - February 11, 2019

These red spots are typical of African swine fever.  
A Wikimedia photo.

There is a real risk that the African swine fever virus could enter Canada — and if it did, it would be catastrophic, says one of the country’s leading swine health experts.

Busted! Citizens' group exposes Illegal hog operation in Manitoba. Few consequences likely for barn owner.(Video)

Read an alternative version here. Also....

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

Florence Flooding Kills 5,500 Pigs, 3.4 Million Chickens in the Carolinas

EcoWatch
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that the historic flooding from Florence has killed about 3.4 million chickens and turkeys and 5,500 hogs. More here.

Million$ more in government help for Manitoba's high-maintenance hog sector.

by Larry Powell

Manitoba's Premier, Brian Pallister has announced another assistance package to Hylife Foods of more than $11 m over the next several year. (HyLife is now Canada's biggest pork processor.) Some $9.5m will come from the province, the rest from Ottawa. It will help the company pay for a pricey expansion of its killing plant in Neepawa and a new feed mill in the southwest.

Last November, I warned in a blog-post here, that Manitoba taxpayers had better be prepared to "dig deeper." Why? Because Pallister's Conservatives had just begun to deregulate this province's corporate hog sector, so it could expand. And, expand, it has! Countless new barns are going up, so that millions more animals can be raised and slaughtered here: And all with fewer regulations than ever to control pollution, disease or catastrophic barn fires. 

Given past history, my article reasoned, more "corporate welfare" was surely in the wind.

It documented at least half-a-billion dollars in aid that had already gone to the industry, nationwide, from federal and provincial treasuries over the previous decade. These included a so-called "loan" of $10 m to HyLife Foods. Turns out, it may not have been a "loan" after all! The agreement allows the Minister, at the stroke of a pen, to release HyLife from its obligation to pay that money back. (No one really knows if that is what will happen. At least, not yet.)

 Part of HyLife's executive team, whose corporation you 

                                      and I continue to"prop up" with our tax dollars.                                           A HyLife photo.

In the ensuing ten months, there have been several more announcements of aid totalling millions, possibly billions, to the agriculture sector, overall. While breakdowns are not always announced, the hog industry has received public funding for such things as "research" as has the "meat processing" sector (usually code for the two big swine killing plants in the province, operated by HyLife and Maple Leaf Foods)

Despite all of this, the hog sector's demands on our public treasuries are becoming even more shrill and frequent of late. It has even issued a formal call for more public assistanc to bail it out of its economic squeeze posed by the threat of a trade war with the States. Apparently, Canadian hog prices have already tanked in the midst of the dispute. 

The industry is also sounding more alarms recently over the apparently real possibility that more virulent and deadly hog disease, now spreading elsewhere around the world, may invade North America. How long do you think it will be before a similar calls goes out for public dollars to counter this threat? 

It's been said that, without the kind of public "largesse" that now flows regularly to the industry, and the fact it does not pay for any of the "external costs" it inflicts on public health and the environment, it would probably go broke in short order!

Before I pat myself on the back too much for being "prophetic," boy, was I was wrong about one thing! In my November story, I said the next rollout of "corporate welfare" would possibly be in about a year. 

If I had been writing with a quill pen, it pretty much happened (allowing for a bit of poetic license) "before the ink was dry!" 

-30-

"In Hogs We Trust."  

A critique of Manitoba’s “runaway” hog industry.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. 

Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? 

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Environmentalists fear Hurricane Florence will again flood Carolinas' many livestock operations, bringing catastrophic pollution.

by Larry Powell

Almost 750 thousand turkeys (shown here) and some 100 thousand hogs,
were lost in catastrophic flooding in North Carolina during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. 
Dave Gatley FEMA

It's an all-too-familiar story.

Given past history, chances are good that Florence will once again turn waterways in the Carolinas - home to hundreds of huge swine and poultry barns and waste lagoons, into a toxic mess of feces, urine and animal remains. It happened when Hurricane Floyd struck in 1999 and Mathew stormed in in 2016.  Even tho they were smaller storms than Florence is now, Mathew and Floyd left their marks, too. According to "The New Food Economy," 14 lagoons flooded and millions of animals died during Mathew. Environmental groups such as The Waterkeeper Alliance, documented what they called "fields of filth" left behind, as seen here. Floyd's toll was also devastating. (See photo, above.)

North Carolina's livestock produce more than 90 billion kilograms of "wet waste" annually.

Despite these seemingly catastrophic scenarios, the hog industry is still putting on a brave, if not contradictory face. The North Carolina Pork Council maintains that waste lagoons are rarely "overtopped" in floods because they are intentionally built on high ground, with berms protecting them. And, it adds, many people just "don't understand this."

This picture, posted on the Council's own website, seems to show
neither berms nor high ground!
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Please also read:

"In Hogs We Trust," a critique of Manitoba's runaway pork industry.

Part 1V - The Health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry.

ASF - a deadly hog disease - has now been confirmed on Romania’s largest pig farm: 140,000 pigs culled

PIG PROGRESS

The virus was confirmed on the farm, which consists of 3 adjacent properties in the southern county of Braila, Romania after water samples were sent to the authorities. Story here.
-30-
In Hogs We Trust - a critique of Manitoba's runaway hog industry.
Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases.

Worries Deepen That Another Deadly Hog Disease May Arrive in Canada

African Swine Fever in China Prompts Call for Review of Biosecurity on Canadian Farms

 Farmscape for September 4, 2018

African Swine Fever has now been reported over a vast area in China. 

A PinP photo.

In light of this, Manitoba Pork is encouraging pork producers to reevaluate biosecurity. 

The virus affects pigs of all ages causing high mortality and, while it doesn't affect humans and isn't considered a food safety risk, it is highly transmissible, it is trade limiting and it is federally reportable.

 Jenelle Hamblin, the Manager of Swine Health Programs with Manitoba Pork, says the world is a smaller place than it once was with people and products moving in short amounts of time for many reasons.

Clip-Jenelle Hamblin-Manitoba Pork:

 As a sector we need to be normally aware of the people that are coming onto our premises and where they've been prior to coming but, in the case such as this, it's important to consider any overseas travel that may have occurred.

African swine fever has been found to live in products for many months therefore we also have to keep in mind any pork products that could potentially be coming into North America.

It would be a really good idea to review your biosecurity protocols with your veterinarian and your staff, talking about overseas travel of anyone coming onto your farm including staff, family members, any contracted workers or even going as far as considering exchange students if that's something your family participates in.

As well the food from other parts of the world.

Things that we could do to prevent bringing anything onto our premises is not bringing back food from overseas or not accepting gifts of food from overseas or from people coming from overseas and also never bringing any types of food scraps into your barn.

Also you could take a look at your feed ingredients and where they are originally being sourced from.

Lastly keeping on top of the developments that are happing in China in regards to African Swine Fever and being aware of what's happening in the sector.

Hamblin acknowledges containing the virus in China will be a challenge due to the varying range of biosecurity in place.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork.

========= 

Please also read: 

In Hogs We Trust - A critique of Manitoba's runaway hog industry:
 Part 111 - The magnitude of livestock diseases, worldwide.

'It’s not if, it’s when': the deadly pig disease spreading around the world

The Guardian

Swine fever has made its way into China, home to half the world’s pigs. Farmers in Estonia are already counting the cost. Story here.
The images below show piglets with "PED," another deadly disease of hogs which has been 
rampant in North America (& Manitoba) in recent years. Photos by Manitoba Pork.

Related:

Officials Worry Yet Another Lethal Pig Disease May be Headed to Canada.

In Hogs We Trust Part 111 - The magnitude of livestock diseases, worldwide.

Officials Worry Yet Another Lethal Pig Disease May be Coming to Canada

by Larry Powell

The Manager of the "Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network" warns, now that African Swine Fever (ASF) has been confirmed in China, the risk of it spreading to North America, has increased. 

Dr. Jette Christensen, veterinary epidemeologist.

Dr. Jette Christensen (above) describes ASF as "a serious and trade-limiting viral infection." Speaking on the industry-sponsored radio program, "Farmscape," she assured listeners, if  the Canadian industry follows import regulations, "they should be safe." But she also warns that the virus can survive for months outside the host in pork products.

The swelling around the kidneys and the muscle hemorrhages shown here are 
typical of pigs with African swine fever. Karen Apicelli USDA

Dr. Christensen warns Canadian producers, that workers they hire, could bring the disease home with them after vacationing in China or Eastern Europe. And they should even be careful when bringing in exchange students, for the same reason.

AFS does not affect humans, so is not considered a food safety concern. But it is described as one of the deadliest diseases of pigs.

The World Health Organization warns that crowded, confined and intensive livestock"factories" (used widely in Canada and around the world), increase the risk of such infectious diseases. 

Delia Grace Randolph, veterinary epidemiologist.

And, in the words of Delia Grace Randolph of the International Livestock Research Institute (above), "The evidence seems quite clear that intensification, especially of pigs and poultry, is associated with emerging infectious zoonotic disease, foodborn disease and antimicrobial resistant pathogens."

Please read more here:

Deadly African Swine Fever Arrives in China, the World's Largest Hog Producer.

African Swine Fever has already arrived in Romania.

In Hogs We Trust - Part 111 - The magnitude of livestock diseases, worldwide.

Deadly African swine fever arrives in China, the world’s largest producer of pigs

International Livestock Research Institute

A piglet, one of countless who died of Porcine Epidemic 

Diarrhea in Manitoba over the past 18 months. (A Manitoba Pork photo.) 

Diseases deadly to hogs, some of which can also spread to humans, are legion.

Long feared, it's now finally happened. African Swine Fever (ASF), an infectious and highly-lethal viral disease of pigs has, for the first time, reared its head in China. Story here.

RELATED; "In Hogs We Trust - Part 111"

A Third Smithfield Lawsuit Verdict Creates Alarm Among Producers

FarmJournal’s PORK

A Smithfield operation in Missouri. A Wikimedia photo. 

A third lawsuit against Smithfield Foods had found the company guilty for “unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks.” A federal jury placed the fine at $473.5 million to six neighbors of pig farms. STORY HERE.

Related: 

•                                                                            "In Hogs We Trust"  

                                           A critique of hog industry expansion in Manitoba.

Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse.

Part 11 - Government subsidies. 

Part 111 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide.

Part 1V - The environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba.

Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Click here and find out!

• Is Manitoba's factory hog industry becoming its own worst enemy?

New research confirms the common house fly spreads serious hog diseases. Is Manitoba's factory hog industry dragging its heels?

by Larry Powell

The house fly. Photo by USDA

A veterinarian at the Walcott Veterinary Clinic in Iowa, Grant Allison, captured flies at swine operations which had tested positive for both diseases in Iowa and Minnesota. In his words, "Flies replicate in moist conditions that could involve manure. So there's an intimate relationship between manure and viruses and flies. The idea that flies might be a possible vector was immediately obvious. We came up with a plan and started by finding an outbreak and trapping flies to see if the flies were positive."

They were.

Not only were they carrying live viruses for both diseases, they were spreading them to healthy pigs and making them sick. What's more, the flies were even found to be infectious in January, usually considered the off-season for such harmful vectors.

Dr. Allison recommends putting a larvicide in the hog feed as one tool in a program to achieve effective fly-control. He believes an extensive program of spraying or fogging would pose too many dangers to the health and safety of workers.

What he does not mention is using anaerobic digesters (ADs) as a possible means of tackling this very problem. These complex pollution control devices use microbes in the absence of oxygen to break down pathogens in slurry, the liquid waste of hogs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirms that, not only do ADs drastically reduce offensive slurry odour (making slurry less of an attractant), they "lower pesticide expenses because of reduced fly hatching."

Trouble is, at the behest of the hog industry that ADs are too expensive, the Manitoba Government last year removed a requirement that they be built along with any new barns. As a result, there is said to be not a single AD in operation anywhere in the province. And it's not believed there are any plans for any in the future, either.

Meanwhile, PEDv has ravaged Manitoba's hog population since a serious outbreak began over a year ago. While mortalities, especially among piglets, were obviously high, the industry won't give numbers. And the province says it doesn't know, because it doesn't keep track. 

The U.S. study was published in "Farm Journal's Pork" earlier this year.

Please also read: "In Hogs We Trust, Part 111"

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African Swine Fever could be in Germany in 4 years

PIG PROGRESS

A research team has concluded that the viral disease - often considered the most deadly of all hog infections - spreads west at a speed of around 200 km per year. More here.

The ear of an infected hog. ASF causes a condition called petechia - red or purple splotches due to bleeding into the skin. Photo credit - USDA

RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust" - Part 3 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide.