Dozens of countries continue to with deal African Swine Fever as it persists to infest swine farming communities in Asia, Europe, and Africa, posing challenges against food securityand to the livelihood of many.
The ASF outbreaks already resulted to direct and indirect massive economic losses for the pig farming industry and the pork export markets, already incurring billions in damages.
What is African Swine Fever
African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), a large, double-stranded DNA virus which replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells and belongs to the family of Asfarviridae, is the causative agent of African Swine Fever (ASF).
Causing a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in pigs, ASFV persistently infects its natural hosts, bush pigs, warthogs and soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros, with no clinical signs and symptoms.
The severity and distribution of the lesions also vary according to virulence of the virus. On average, severe cases of the disease are characterized by high fever and death in 2-10 days, while the mortality rate can be as high as 100%. Other clinical signs of ASF includebleeding from the nose or rectum,depression, loss of appetite, redness of the skin of the ears, abdomen, and legs, respiratory distress, vomiting, and sometimes, diarrhoea.
Prevention and control measures against ASF
There is still no known curenor vaccine for African Swine Fever, and the only remedy right now is prevention through tight biosecurity measures. All successful ASF eradication programs depend on rapid diagnose, slaughter and proper disposal of all animals on infected areas, thorough cleaning and disinfection of premises, and strict movement controls and surveillance.
In a proper prevention program, it should also be considered to use a disinfectant that is proven against ASF.
Recently, Zagro Asia Limited conducted testing of its key disinfectant Ultraxide™against ASF, knowing that at this point, only a sound biosecurity measure is viable against the virus.
They commissioned for independent evaluationof Ultraxide™ against the ASF virusin Spain with CISA, the European Union reference laboratory for ASF since 2002.
Test conclusion of Ultraxide™ disinfectant
In accordance with the EN 14675 test method, which was modified to enable testing against the ASF virus, test results showed that Ultraxide™achieved complete inactivation of the ASF virus at a 1:300, 1:200, and at 1:100 dilution rate at the exposure time of 5 minutes.
The test method employed included the presence of organic matter and hard water.And in order to assess the disinfectant’s performance and suitability for use in various farm set ups across the globe, the test was conducted at low temperature (10˚ C).
The results provided confirmation of the efficacy of Ultraxide™ in deactivating the African Swine Fever virus rapidly in a laboratory set up and also in real life farm settings.