Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences www.slu.se Impact of Emerging Transboundary Diseases Using African Swine Fever in Uganda as a specific case Sofia Boqvist, DVM, Ass Prof., Karl Ståhl, DVM Dept of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, SLU ABSTRACT: Pig farming is one of the fastest growing livestock activities in the rural areas of Uganda and has become very attractive throughout the country as a means of increasing food, income and employment. In addition to the increased local demand, exported pork generates additional incomes for the farmer and the country. However, infectious diseases such as African Swine Fever (ASF) represent serious potential constraints to the further development of the pig industry. There are also concerns regarding the negative effects of livestock production on the global climate, and efficiency of production has been identified as a key issue. Infectious disease is a major limiting factor for livestock production with severe negative economic consequences both at micro (smallholder producers) and macro (regional and international) economic levels. ASF is an economically important and frequently lethal viral disease of domestic pigs. The virus is maintained either through a sylvatic cycle involving warthogs and soft ticks or in a domestic cycle that involves pigs of local breeds, with or without tick involvement. Since there is no currently available control measure other than diagnosis and slaughter, the disease poses a serious constraint to the development of both smallholder and industrial pig industries in Africa. ASF is also perceived as an important disease based on stakeholder perceptions. The magnitude of the threat now needs to be better defined through systematic collection of baseline data that will provide a framework for a more rigorous assessment of the impact of the disease. This two-year project is performed in collaboration with several partners in Kenya, Uganda and at SLU. The aim is to provide an in-depth assessment of the impact of ASF in constraining the development of the smallholder pig industry in Uganda at defined benchmark sites. The approach will involve a combination of participatory epidemiology and molecular characterisation of viral diversity. DISCUSSION AFTER PRESENTATION: Questions concerned the disease transmission pathways, the possibility of transmission to humans (it cannot be transmitted to any animals other than domestic pigs) and whether there are any support systems for affected farmers (there are no such systems and neither do effective survey systems exist, which means that the authorities are often unaware of outbreaks).
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Impact of Emerging Transboundary Diseases, using African Swine Fever in Uganda as a specific Case
This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa” held in September, 2010.
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Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceswww.slu.se
Impact of Emerging Transboundary Diseases Using African Swine Fever in Uganda as a specific case
Sofia Boqvist, DVM, Ass Prof., Karl Ståhl, DVMDept of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, SLU
ABSTRACT: Pig farming is one of the fastest growing livestock activities in the rural areas of Uganda and has become veryattractive throughout the country as a means of increasing food, income and employment. In addition to the increased localdemand, exported pork generates additional incomes for the farmer and the country. However, infectious diseases such asAfrican Swine Fever (ASF) represent serious potential constraints to the further development of the pig industry. There are alsoconcerns regarding the negative effects of livestock production on the global climate, and efficiency of production has beenidentified as a key issue. Infectious disease is a major limiting factor for livestock production with severe negative economicconsequences both at micro (smallholder producers) and macro (regional and international) economic levels.
ASF is an economically important and frequently lethal viral disease of domestic pigs. The virus is maintained either through asylvatic cycle involving warthogs and soft ticks or in a domestic cycle that involves pigs of local breeds, with or without tickinvolvement. Since there is no currently available control measure other than diagnosis and slaughter, the disease poses aserious constraint to the development of both smallholder and industrial pig industries in Africa. ASF is also perceived as animportant disease based on stakeholder perceptions.
The magnitude of the threat now needs to be better defined through systematic collection of baseline data that will provide aframework for a more rigorous assessment of the impact of the disease. This two-year project is performed in collaborationwith several partners in Kenya, Uganda and at SLU. The aim is to provide an in-depth assessment of the impact of ASF inconstraining the development of the smallholder pig industry in Uganda at defined benchmark sites. The approach will involvea combination of participatory epidemiology and molecular characterisation of viral diversity.
DISCUSSION AFTER PRESENTATION: Questions concerned the disease transmission pathways, the possibility oftransmission to humans (it cannot be transmitted to any animals other than domestic pigs) and whether there are any supportsystems for affected farmers (there are no such systems and neither do effective survey systems exist, which means that theauthorities are often unaware of outbreaks).
Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceswww.slu.se
Impact of emerging transboundarydiseases
Using African Swine Fever in Uganda as a specific case
Sofia Boqvist, DVM, Ass ProfKarl Ståhl, DVMDept of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, SLU
• Virological disease • Cause symptoms in
domestic pigs• High mortality• No vaccines• No treatments• Emerging trans-boundary
diseases
African Swine Fever (ASF)
Transmisson and spread• Three mechanisms of transmission
• Wild African pig species and soft shelled ticks are the natural hosts of the virus
Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceswww.slu.se
Virus host
Symptoms Peracute – acute infection
• Incubation 5-15 days• High fever• Inappetens• Discoloration of the skin • Very high mortality
• Mainly in enzootic areas (areas where the disease is present)
• Fluctuating fever• Red discoloration of the skin • Depression and loss of appetite• Secondary infections • Mortality mainly among young
individuals
SymptomsSubacute – chronic infection
Pig production in Uganda
• Exotic pigs were introduced in Uganda in the 1950s and 1960s
• Today the pig population stands at about 3.2 million pigs – in Africa second only to Nigeria
• Demand for pork products steadily increasing
• Production dominated by rural free-range small holder systems
Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceswww.slu.se
ASF in Uganda
APAC
OYAM
AMURUGULU
PADER
AMURIA
KATAKWI
SOROTI
KIBAALE
KASESE
KANUNGU RAKAI
KABULA MUKONOWAKISO
KAMPALAMUBENDE
KIBOGA
NAKASEKE
NAKASONGOLA
KAMULITORORO
SIRONKO
LUW
EERO
IGANGAJINJA
PALLISABUTALEJA
MPIGI
MITYAN
A
KALI R
O
100 0 100 200 Kilometers
DistrictsASF distribution
N
District distribution of African Swine Fever 2004
Key
Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceswww.slu.se
Project objective
• To provide an in-depth assessment of the impact of African swine fever (ASF) in constraining the development of the smallholder pig industry in Uganda at defined benchmark sites.
• The approach will involve a combination of:– participatory epidemiology, including farmer interviews – in-depth field sampling– molecular characterization of viral diversity.
1. A longitudinal survey of ASF in domestic pigs in two districts
• This is the key activity in the project.• Serological study
– This activity will be repeated twice during the duration of the project
• Questionnaire study – with the participating farmers/stakeholders