ASF Update

August 15, 2018 — 

As of August 15, there are no official reports of additional farms infected with ASF in China. There have been official actions taken by the Chinese government to try to contain the disease and monitor other farms. There is still no official report regarding pathway of entry. The US pork industry organizations are working together with USDA to enhance prevention and preparedness.

Since the notice of the August 1 outbreak, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), National Pork Board (NPB), National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) have been in communication about the outbreak, gathering and assimilating information. Unofficial information coming from a variety of sources about the situation in the country has contained mixed information with some speaking to rumors of spread and others supporting the government's efforts to contain the outbreak.

Below are the official reports and notifications coming from China. Added to them, but without documentation, is an unofficial update that on August 11 Liaoning province instituted a regulation forbidding the feeding of kitchen scraps to pigs.

As they communicate with USDA, the above listed US industry organizations are also working to review the US preventive measures and response capabilities. Further updates on these urgent actions will be coming.

Official releases and notifications (If they were given in Chinese, these are not official translations. They are accurate translations to the best of our ability.)

August 3 (Initial report to OIE of the start of the outbreak on August 1)

This is the first outbreak of African swine fever in China. The local government launched the African Swine Fever Contingency Plan and Emergency Response Level II, according to the Standards & Protocols for African swine fever. A series of control measures have been taken.

August 4 (Follow up report to OIE)

So far, the outbreak has been effectively controlled and no new cases were detected. The area extending 3 km from the edge of the outbreak site is designated as the epidemic zone. A total of 8116 pigs have been killed and disposed of in the outbreak site and the epidemic zone at present, strict blockade, disinfection and movement control measures are continuing in the outbreak site and epidemic areas. A total of 8 disinfection checkpoints have been established in the epidemic zone, all of the farms, backyards, and vehicles that enter and exit the epidemic areas must be disinfected. A comprehensive epidemiology investigation has been carried out in the whole Liaoning province, up until now, 1.88 million live pigs have been screened, no abnormal situation has been found.

August 7 This notice is about the laboratory confirmation of the index case.

1. Case history. Up to Aug 1, 2018, unknown death of 47 pigs occurred on a backyard farm in Shenbei District, Shenyang city, Liaoning province. Necropsy of 2 acutely deceased pigs revealed extreme enlargement of spleen. The spleen of one pig was at least 10 times larger than the normal pig spleen and the spleen of another pig was 5-7 times larger than the normal. ASF was suspected. The National Research Center for Exotic Animal Disease, China was notified to investigate the etiology.
2. PCR testing results. Eight samples collected from the 2 deceased pigs (4 samples including whole blood, lymph node, kidney and spleen from each pig) were all positive by a ASFV-specific real-time PCR with Ct values of 19.14-26.5. The seven samples except the spleen 2 were also positive by a conventional ASFV PCR with a band of 257 bp; the spleen 2 was weak positive by the conventional ASFV PCR.
3. p72 gene sequencing and analyses. The B646L/p72 gene fragment was amplified and sequenced from the PCR-positive samples. The partial sequence (417 bp) of B646L/p72 gene was determined and subject to phylogenetic analysis. It revealed that the ASFV detected in China belongs to genotype II and was genetically closely (100%) related to the Georgia 2007 strain circulating in Russia and East Europe. Complete genome sequencing of Chinese ASFV strain is in progress.
4. ASFV antibody. The ASFV blocking ELISA antibody kit (based on the p72 protein) manufactured by the INGENASA (Spain), the ASFV indirect ELISA antibody kit (based on the p30, p62 and p72 proteins) manufactured by the ID-vet (France), and an ASFV indirect ELISA kit (based on the p30 protein) developed by the National Research Center for Exotic Animal Disease, China were used to measure AFSV antibody in the collected blood samples. 32 blood samples were all negative for ASFV antibody.

August 10 (Follow up report to OIE, http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review?page_refer=MapEventSummary&reportid=27533)

After all susceptible animals at the infected point and infected zone were culled and disposed of in an appropriate bio-safety way, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has organized and guided veterinary services of the whole country to conduct an epidemiological survey and emergency surveillance for African swine fever (ASF). Up to 09 August 2018, a total of 261,900 screening sites were investigated and a total of 18,094,300 pigs were screened in our country. Sites included pig farms, markets, slaughterhouses, factories or sites for disposal of animals and animal products. Epidemiological survey and emergency surveillance plan has been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. In the key provinces including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Guangdong, Gansu, Xinjiang, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, an epidemiological survey and emergency surveillance for ASF have been conducted according to the plan. Up to now, no new cases have been found.

August 13 This notice is about laboratory biosecurity and sample transport.

1. ASFV is a highly contagious virus. Any laboratory testing animal pathogens must pay high attention to the laboratory biosecurity, follow the proper procedures, prevent any laboratory leak of the virus.
2. Inspect the laboratories and strictly control sample collection and testing. Only the designated laboratories are allowed to conduct ASFV virus isolation on the suspect samples. Other laboratories are not allowed to collect ASF suspect samples for testing and research. Testing ASF suspect samples must be performed in BSL-3 laboratories.
3. Collection of ASF suspect samples must follow the established procedures. Sample packing and transport must also follow the established procedures.

For anyone traveling to China or any area undergoing active ASF outbreaks, AASV, NPB, NPPC and SHIC urge you to be aware of the heightened risk. We encourage you to take extra precautions when visiting farms and before returning to the U.S. Consider the following precautions if possible:

• Avoid visiting ASF-positive farms and farms in areas under government control for ASF.
• Clothing and shoes
  • Wear clothing and shoes provided by the farm.
  • If you have to wear clothing you brought with you, consider leaving it there.
  • If clothing is not provided, then wear disposable coveralls and impermeable shoe covers.
  • Thoroughly wash any clothing and disinfect any footwear worn on a farm which you do not leave on the farm. Do not wear this clothing/shoes to farms in the U.S.
• Blow your nose, expectorate and shower completely (including hair and fingernails) at the farm and again as soon as possible after leaving the farm
• Notify the customs agent upon arrival in the U.S. that you have been in contact with swine in a country with active ASF
• Allow AT LEAST 48 hours (longer might be better) downtime after last contact with swine or contaminated materials before coming into contact with swine in the U.S.
• DO NOT bring food or agricultural items back into the U.S.

For additional information, download the document entitled Traveling Overseas? from the Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH) website at http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Species/Swine/TravelBiosecurity_Handout_Traveling_Overseas.pdf. The CFSPH website also contains additional information on ASF at http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/DiseaseInfo/disease.php?name=african-swine-fever&lang=en