2023-12-16 15:40:00
African swine fever is known in Belgium. For two years, Gaume fought to eradicate it with plans and traps. A stubborn disease that affects swine until their death. Although it initially poses no risk to humans, the fact remains that the spread of the disease might endanger pork farms, and therefore nearly 35% of the meat consumed by the man.
When the disease broke out in 2018 in the forests of southern Belgium, the entire pig sector held its breath, even forcing the preventive destruction of certain healthy herds. Although the drastic measures taken were able to put an end to this epidemic, the fact remains that other countries remain particularly affected. In Italy, ASF is even endemic in certain regions.
ASF appeared on European soil in 1957 in Spain, France and Portugal. Eradicated since the 1990s except in Sardinia, the virus made a comeback in 2007 from Georgia to spread to many Eastern countries, notably Poland and the Czech Republic.
Serious consequences
The consequences can be dramatic. In 2019, for example, China would have seen its pig herd divided in two, losing more than 200 million head.
Since 2021, it is the Italian situation which is worrying. While Liguria and Piedmont have many wild boars and few pig farms, the opposite is true in Lombardy. The authorities are therefore finding it difficult to make clear and effective decisions, raising fears of a spread to the rest of Europe which might prove catastrophic for the pig sector. In September and October 2023, as Science & Vie recalls, 40,000 pigs were slaughtered preventively in the Milan and Pavia region to avoid contamination.
Today, it is European policy that is being called into question. Because if the eradication of ASF can be managed on limited areas, it becomes much more dangerous once the spread is observed. To avoid endangering all of its pig farms, Europe may soon have to change its approach. “If, at present, no vaccine is available in Europe once morest African swine fever (research is underway), Vietnam (first country to have authorized the marketing of a live attenuated vaccine) and the Philippines are coming. for their part to announce the official launch of a vaccination campaign“, assures in The Conversation Frédéric Keck, anthropologist at EHESS.
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