Chinese pig farms are now allowed to test African swine fever

Large hog farms in China will now be allowed to test African swine fever (ASF) in an attempt to detect the virus faster. This decision cancels a previous government ban on commercial farms doing their own testing.

The Ministry of Agriculture has asked local livestock offices to encourage large farms to purchase kits for the deadly virus that has swept the country, reports Reuters.

Previously, test kits were not legally available to farmers. Government agencies could only perform the required tests if signs of disease were detected.

This effort will contribute to early detection, early notification and early treatment of APP, thereby reducing the risk of spread through transport, slaughter and processing of infected pigs.

"Early detection of index cases before the entire herd is affected would help limit the spread of the virus," said Chris Rademacher, DVM, badociate director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center. "This flexibility should allow pork producers to deal quickly with suspected cases instead of waiting until clinical signs have progressed to a point where it is evident that the pigs are infected, allowing responses to be made. fast to limit the spread of the virus. "

Epidemics of the disease have now been reported in almost all parts of mainland China. Many cases are also unreported and the detection and treatment of outbreaks have been hampered by previous test rules, according to Reuters.

Test kits must be approved by the Ministry of Agriculture or the China Animal Disease Control Center. The ministry said the authorities should provide funding to the farms for testing and that local livestock departments should badist the technical services. Before diagnosis, farms should isolate pigs and other potentially infected objects.

In its statement, the Ministry of Agriculture noted that "awareness of the prevention of outbreaks in pig farms in China is generally low". The overall level of prevention of epidemics is low and cleaning and disinfection measures are difficult to apply.

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