Source: SAPPO, SAPPO Weekly Update, 19 March 2021, photo credit: NEXTIAS
A team has been appointed to manage the ASF on the commercial farm in the Potchefstroom area. Culling of the animals in the affected buildings has commenced, while strict internal biosecurity is being practiced in an attempt to prevent spread to unaffected pigs/houses.
All mortalities are evaluated by veterinarians plus testing for ASF is done on suspect deaths. As with other outbreak cases, disposal of culled pigs is problematic. Innovative solutions are being discussed and debated as to how to depopulate the unit safely and to salvage as many of the pigs as possible.
Another small holding with free-roaming rearing system was identified in the past week close to other cases in the same area. At the farmer’s request the remaining pigs have been culled. The culled pigs and remains of mortalities found on the farm have been responsibly disposed.
According to Dr Garry Buhrman, state veterinarian in the Western Cape, the culling of some 300 pigs on eight holdings in the ASF-infected Mfuleni settlement near Cape Town Airport has began. This takes place with the assistance of the SPCA, the Department of Environmental Affairs, the SAPS, a waste company and the local Joint Operations Committee. The assistance of the Western Cape government in managing this outbreak is appreciated.
The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
