A virus unique only to pigs is spreading at an alarming rate in China and this latest swine disease has become even more concerning for those at the global pork table.
Dr. Egan Brockhoff, of Prairie Swine Health Services and veterinary counsellor for the Canadian Pork Council, explains African Swine Fever (ASF) can go after every type of pig.
“It’s a very dangerous and frustrating virus to deal with,” Brockhoff says. “One of the primary challenges is there’s no known vaccine for this virus whatsoever.”
He goes on to say researchers are a very long ways away to finding a cure for this incredibly destructive virus, which makes pigs bleed from their nose to their anus and internally.
Eradication of herds is the only opportunity to eliminate the virus from the population in countries known to have the disease, Brockhoff says.
“For countries that don’t have the disease, such as Canada and the U.S. and many of the other western European union countries — the core focus is on keeping the disease out of the county,” he says. “Focusing on your biosecurity efforts from a nation level, from a national border level, to ensure the virus doesn’t enter.”
Listen to RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney, speak to Dr. Egan Brockhoff about ASF and what Canada needs to do in order to prevent the disease from coming over to our nation.
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