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Preparation of African swine fever contingency plans

Year of publication 2009

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 86 p.

Author Mary-Louise Penrith, Vittorio Guberti, Klaus Depner, Juan Lubroth;Animal Production and Health Division

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

Series title FAO Animal Production and Health Manual

Series number no. 8

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) African swine fever (ASF) is a viral haemorrhagic disease of swine generally characterized by high morbidity and high mortality. The disease is known to have devastated swine farming in highly industrialized, small commercial and backyard swine holdings, with concomitant closure of animal and meat export markets, ravaged swine populations, and destroyed individual and family livelihoods. ASF is one of the more difficult transboundary animal diseases to control as no successful vaccine has yet be en developed; it is transmitted by direct contact between infective and susceptible swine, and by infected soft ticks of the Ornithodoros genus; and it has several wildlife reservoirs in areas where it is endemic. The ASF virus can last for long periods in contaminated environments or cured pork products, which can be a source of infection or introduction of the disease to distant areas.The disease, present in most of sub-Saharan Africa, made its way to Europe in the late 1950s, where campaigns for its eradication on the mainland took more than 30 years to conclude. In the 1970s and 1980s, the disease was introduced several times into a few countries in the Americas, with eventual elimination only after national and international concerted action. In mid-2005 ASF was first reported in the Caucasus and spread within the region, causing concern to swine producers in Eastern Europe and beyond.This manual is based on the manual on ASF (FAO Animal Health Manual No. 11) published in 2001, updated to capture new knowledge and adapted to cover European settings.

Language English

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