African Swine Fever: A New Threat to India’s Pork Industry?
The highly contagious and fatal African Swine Fever (ASF) has been confirmed at a private pig farm in Kerala. This is the first reported case in India, where 15 pigs have died from the disease in the last ten days. The disease, which manifests as hemorrhagic fever, has no cure and the only way to curb its spread is by culling affected animals. ASF does not pose a threat to humans and is listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
The Outbreak of African Swine Fever in India
African Swine Fever was first detected in the 1920s in Africa and has since caused outbreaks in parts of Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Asia, and now, India. The disease spreads from animals to other animals and has a mortality rate of almost 100%. It can be transmitted through direct contact with infected pigs, their faeces or body fluids, or indirectly via fomites such as equipment or vehicles.
Clinical Signs of African Swine Fever
Pigs infected with ASF may exhibit varying symptoms, including high temperatures, lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin reddening or darkening, laboured breathing and gummed-up eyes. Affected sows may also have abnormal birthing patterns, resulting in stillbirths or weak litters.
Classical Swine Fever: Another Deadly Pig Disease
Classical Swine Fever (CSF), also known as Hog Cholera, is another economically damaging pandemic viral disease affecting pigs. Like ASF, CSF is caused by a virus (genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae), with a similar high mortality rate. The ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute recently developed a Cell Culture CSF Vaccine using foreign strain which has been effective in inducing protective immunity.
Role of the World Organisation for Animal Health
The World Organisation for Animal Health, formerly known as the Office International des Epizooties, is an intergovernmental body committed to enhancing animal health globally. The organization develops normative documents and rules to protect member countries from the introduction of diseases and pathogens. One such document is the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. The OIE’s standards are used by the World Trade Organization as reference international sanitary rules. Its headquarters is located in Paris, France, and India is one of its 182 members.
H1N1 Virus and Swine Flu
The H1N1 virus, often mentioned in relation to swine flu, was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2009. Symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, chills, weakness and body aches. The swine influenza genome has eight distinct regions coding for eleven different proteins.
