6 ways to help protect against African swine fever

Pig producers are starting to draw up contingency plans to reduce the risk of African swine fever coming onto their farms.

These plans will also minimise the stress of being in a restricted zone in the event of a UK outbreak of the notifiable disease.

A series of workshops to help pig businesses prepare is running until December, jointly organised by vet practices, the AHDB, the National Pig Association and Livetec Systems.

See also: 5 ways to keep disease out of outdoor pig herds

The workshops feature a guided session for producers to begin writing their own farm-specific contingency plan.

This includes what to do if they find themselves in a protection zone with a disease outbreak nearby.

“This is the most likely scenario and could be as financially damaging as being the infected premises, as they fall under restrictions and there is no compensation,” says Julian Sparrey, Livetec Systems technical director.

“If ASF [African swine fever] got into the country, you would still have a lot of power to minimise the risk of disease getting past your farm gate,” AHDB senior animal health and welfare scientist and vet Miranda Poulson says.

“Your farm fence is the last defence, and you are in control of this.”

Vets guide participants through the process at the workshops © AHDB

Current risk and clinical signs

ASF is highly contagious and can be spread if a pig eats infectious meat products, has contact with infected pigs, their faeces or body fluids, or contact with anything contaminated with the virus.

This includes people, clothing, vehicles and equipment.

ASF has been confirmed in parts of Asia and numerous European countries.

Aside from the immediate on-farm challenges that come with a notifiable disease outbreak, the UK would lose its disease-free status for ASF, and exports would be stopped.

The signs of ASF can be non-specific, from fever, reluctance to stand and lack of energy, through to sudden death.

Other more specific signs include abnormal bleeding anywhere in the body including the skin, resulting in purple or dark patches, particularly on ears and snout, as well as abortions and bleeding from nose or rectum.

Contingency planning

Contingency plans for all farms should include:

• Farm location, key farm contacts and phone numbers
• A map of the unit, including entrance and exit points
• Details of individual buildings, fields and livestock numbers/capacity
• Vehicle and people access biosecurity protocols
• Consideration of temporary additional pig accommodation and extra storage for feed and straw
• Plans for storage and removal of slurry and manure
• Staff induction and training, along with consideration of emotional impact
• Impact on family and other enterprises on the farm.

Julian and Miranda highlight six lessons learned from avian influenza in the poultry sector that are equally relevant to the pig industry.

1 Understand Apha requirements

Understanding requirements by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), and what would happen on both infected premises and those in restriction zones, is key.

Since classical swine fever in 2000 and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001 and 2007, the response to any outbreak has changed, and so has the structure and management of the sector.

While Apha will manage the process on infected premises, producers need to be able to provide the agency with detailed records.

Information such as visitor movements, herd mortality records and any pathology reports for the previous few months must be to hand.

If pigs need to be moved around, even across the road, restrictions will disrupt the normal farm system and there will be an additional layer of licensing.

“If you’ve planned ahead, this is more manageable, whereas it can be a real headache if you’re working it out in the middle of a crisis,” says Julian.

2 Keep digital records

Farm records should be thorough and consistent, including people and pig movement records covering at least the previous 12 months, and be kept digitally if possible.

The AHDB’s eAML2 provides electronic pig movement records and, instead of using a visitor book and a pen, a QR code can be put on a sign for visitors to scan and complete details online before entering the unit.

“Visitor” should cover all people entering the unit, including delivery drivers, contractors and regular staff, adds Miranda.

3 Focus on farm entry points

It is vital to control all vehicles and people moving in and out.

“There are lots of examples of overseas farms surrounded by cases of ASF where they were able to keep it out, largely through double perimeter fencing and being ruthless about who and what comes in and out,” she says.

Whatever practical steps are taken to protect against ASF will also reduce the risk of FMD and many endemic diseases.

• Minimise the number of entry and exit points.
• Review biosecurity at entrances to every pig building or field.
• Establish a delivery point, away from the pig unit or on the edge, for general courier deliveries, and provide a small chemical store if possible.
• Vehicle cleaning and disinfection facilities at the farm entrance are obligatory in a disease restriction zone. Ensure pressure washers and disinfection equipment can be installed at every entrance – ideally, do this now and start using them.
• Invest in plenty of wellington boots, which everyone must change into before entering the farm. Disinfectant foot-dips should be kept at the correct dilution and changed frequently.
• Think about how to secure outdoor units and record deliveries and visitors. Provide a shed to get changed in and put on farm wellies – ideally on hardstanding – and a sign with a phone number to call the manager.
• If there is capital available to invest, feed bins could be moved to the perimeter or concrete hardstanding put in at entrances/exits to enable thorough cleaning and disinfection of vehicles.
• If there is a gate at the entrance, it should be kept closed – it provides a physical barrier and prompt for everyone to stop.

4 Divide farm into zones

It is advisable to divide the farm into smaller areas to create biosecure zones, depending on layout, and minimise the number of people going near the pigs.

Outdoor units, where pigs are moving regularly to different fields, will be different to indoor units.

Also, some units may have begun small and grown outwards from the middle, while others have been purpose-built, with pig accommodation lined up in a row.

5 Consider temporary housing

Options for temporary pig housing should be considered, taking into account the different movement licences when under restrictions.

This includes calculating how long it would be before the accommodation becomes unsuitable for the pigs’ size and production stage.

Any spare land for temporary accommodation will also require sufficient feeders, water pipes and bales to build it.

6 Work with farm staff and vet

It is vital to work with the farm vet to put together a “living” plan, updating it when necessary and sharing it with farm staff, including during new staff induction.

More information

Producers should contact their vet to find out if they are offering a workshop this autumn. There are also plans to organise more next year.

A contingency plan template is available to download.