REVIEW ▶▶▶
SwineTalks: Online insights on biosecurity
In the world of international swine meetings, the virtual event SwineTalks is a new kid on the block. The first edition of this TED talk–like virtual event was held 7–8 October 2020, with 29 expert speakers presenting on a wide variety of swine subjects. The event attracted over 100 live participants. Pig Progress was one of them and homed in on those speakers addressing (respiratory) health issues and biosecurity. What messages did they share?
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH, CORRESPONDENT AND VINCENT TER BEEK, EDITOR PIG PROGRESS Biosecurity lessons learned in China
If there is one thing Chinese pig farmers have learned in the ongoing Af- rican Swine Fever (ASF) crisis, it is that good biosecurity is the top barrier that can guard against it. Dr Mu Li, nutritionist at Chai Tai Animal Hus- bandry Investment, China, outlined the steep learning curve that pig farmers undertook with biosecurity to safeguard their herds. He also said there was some disregard for ASF from farmers in the southern parts of China when it first broke out on farms in the north in 2018, but how they, too, were soon affected when the disease spread rapidly within three months. Dr Mu said: “We have learned a lot from ASF in China. The most impor- tant lesson is that all the producers realise the importance of biosecurity. If we don’t focus on biosecurity we will get punished. Biosecurity covers many details. There are three big differences after ASF. First is farm
design. Before ASF producers main- ly focused on pig flow, but now have new designs on new farms similar to American and EU farms. The second is adding washing cen- tres to the farms, which are very ex- pensive. They can cost US$ 40,000 each but now new farms have them. The third item is to build an animal health lab. Right now producers need fast analysis for ASF and have now built them on the farms. This allows them to take quick action if ASF is detected.” Dr Mu added that he is confident the pork industry in China will be strong in the future.
Comparing Covid-19, ASF and Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Comparing ASF with Covid-19 and Foot-and-Mouth Disease to see what can be learned from them was the topic for Professor Luis Gustavo Corbellini, Federal Uni- versity of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. “There are a lot of similarities between the three,” said Prof Corbellini. “All of
them are caused by viruses and there are no
vaccines for Covid-19 or ASF. Plus all of them are highly contagious and have serious consequences to people, producers, countries and con- tinents.” Prof Corbellini discussed vaccination and how some agricultur- al ministries have a different perception of vaccinations than that of
6 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 9, 2020
primary producers. He also mentioned risk, in terms of disease, and what that meant in terms of tackling diseases. “Many countries are now planning mitigation strategies for ASF based on a risk assessment. This could help answer questions such as where will the most cases of ASF be or which population will be more vulnerable to it. “Communication strategies can also mitigate risk, but how many peo- ple plan them?” he asked. He said early detection of a disease is one of the most important factors in how to control it. “In many cases producers are too afraid to report diseases because of the lack of trust and their reputation. So how do we solve that situation? One strategy is to engage the stakeholders into the system but this could fail and there needs to be a backup system to help,” he added.
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