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SHIC Swine Disease Matrix Update: African Swine Fever Moves Up

September 26, 2018 — Paul Sundberg

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) revised the priority of African swine fever (ASF) on the Swine Disease Matrix from an average risk score of 7.7 to 8.3. This moved ASF from third on the Matrix to second. This action comes as multiple new outbreaks of ASF in China were reported in August and September, now totaling more than 20. Westward spread of ASF was observed with Bulgaria reporting its first case and Romania struggling to control the epidemic. On September 14, the OIE official report of the first ASF case in Belgium was released with three additional cases confirmed the following day by the Federal Agriculture Minister.

The outbreak in Belgium may represent a change in the epidemiologic status of ASF worldwide. The disease may have reached pandemic proportions. Pandemic seems an appropriate description as ASF moves across Europe and over considerable distances in China recently, in addition to the sustained occurrence of outbreaks in Africa and Russia.

The current situation creates an alert to the international trade of pork, and many countries are revising their commercial agreements with affected countries. Meetings in affected geographies are ongoing with plans to mitigate disease spread being developed. This includes proposals to ban the movement, hunting, and feeding of wild boars. Read more about ASF cases in the SHIC Global Disease Monitoring Reports. Updated reports will be posted every other week.

Funded by America's pork producers to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd, the Swine Health Information Center focuses its efforts on prevention, preparedness, and response. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research for the benefit of swine health. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Paul Sundberg at psundberg@swinehealth.org.

Paul Sundberg, Executive Director, Swine Health Information Center