African Swine Fever

What properties are known of the African swine fever virus? The African swine fever virus is a large, complex DNA-virus. The virus is the only classified member of a family called Asfarviridae meaning African swine fever-like viruses. Sequence analyses of ASF-virus DNA in varying geographic locations and over a long period of time have shown that multiple genotypes of the African swine fever virus exist. It is a resilient virus which is resistant to a wide pH range and can remain infectious for several months at room temperature or even when it is stored at 4° C. Thus, the African swine fever virus can stay unbothered in unprocessed meat for weeks and can only be inactivated by heating for at least half an hour at 70° C.

How is the virus transmitted? African swine fever originates in African countries where it is transmitted by soft ticks and then after the disease is once brought to the pig population it is further spread as infected animals have contact with healthy individuals. Since soft ticks are not as abundant in Central Europe, African swine fever is transmitted here either via direct contact with infected animals or via the ingestion of contaminated food like raw meat or sausages. It may as well use indirect ways of infection such as food preparation or the usage of contaminated equipment for e.g. hunting. However, the most likely way of infection is contact with contaminated blood. Only one droplet of infected blood is enough to transmit the disease between animals. This transmission then causes a wider spread of African swine fever among the pig population.

Since 2007, when African swine fever was first acknowledged in the Caucasus region, it has spread widely and covered large parts of western and southern Russia and is now circulating among the pig and wild boar populations. However, the disease already arrived at the edges of European Union since in 2013 some cases were reported in the Ukraine and Belarus as well as in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The disease appears most frequently in African countries and the mediterranean island Sardinia. Although in Germany no confirmed cases of African swine fever have been reported so far the risk of a spread to Germany is very high and, therefore, transmission should be avoided.

How do symptons of African swine fever look like? The infection with African swine fever causes unspecified symptoms such as anorexia , fever, movement disorders, weakness and breathing difficulties. Diarrhoea and haemorrhage also are common symptoms of the disease. Some infected animals may show slow movement and disorientation. However, most infected animals do not show all symptoms and, therefore, lacking some of them does not proof against an infection. Neither does the occurrence of the symptoms necessarily mean that the animal is infected. Anyway, as soon as there is a suspected African swine fever a veterinarian should be asked for advice as soon as possible. African swine fever equally affects pigs and wild boars of all ages and sexes. Typically the infected animal dies after a little more than one week.

What prevention or treatment is possible? There is no treatment or vaccine for African swine fever available yet. However, alternative measures can be taken such as paying close attention to hygienic measures and taking care of a clean surrounding. It is very important to recognize the disease in an early stage and then after including a veterinarian isolate the infected animal(s) immediately from the other animals in order to prevent a spread of African swine fever. Hunting restrictions in endangered areas are also ordered with the purpose of a prevented spread. Nevertheless, in affected areas intensified wild boar hunting should take place. This measure thins out the wild boar population because the denser the population the higher the risk of a rapid disease spread.

Since transmission may take place through direct contact with infected animal dead bodies should be kept away from other pigs as well as infected but still alive pigs. Hunters should strictly follow the hygienic measures in order to prevent transmission through contaminated equipment.

Awareness of the disease should be established all over the population. Deadly found bodies should be reported and the samples should then be examined to diagnose the African swine fever. An awareness of an arriving of the disease in Germany is vital to prevent further spread and, therefore, everyone should be attentive .

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. http://dict.leo.org. 2. www.dict.cc. 3. www.fli.de. 4. www.tierseucheninfo.niedersachsen.de. 5. www.webster-dictionary.org. 6. www.who.de.

EXERCISE: 1. What kind of animals get the African swine fever infection? a. pigs b. wild boars c. bats d. flying foxes

2. How is the virus spread in Europe?

a. through soft ticks b. through meat c. through contaminated equipment

3. How long can the ASF virus be infectious?

a. 24 h b. several week to months c. 2–6 days

You’ll find the answer on:

http://tinyurl.com/weiterbildung-englisch

Carmen Lobitz Carmen Lobitz ist freie Trainerin, Lehrerin und MTA. Sie gründete 1998 in Berlin lobitz seminare, die unter anderem Englischseminare für Health Professionals anbieten. Kontakt: mail@lobitz-seminare.de www.lobitz-seminare.de