The recent outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting swine, had led to significant economic loss in some countries, especially those relying heavily on the commercial pig industry.

ASF is not zoonotic — humans are not susceptible to the disease. However, as nations fear transcontinental transmission of ASF, we see huge losses of international trade. For instance, in 2021, Mexico banned all pork derived products from countries affected by the ASF outbreak from entering their market. This move has also been replicated by other nations sharing the same concern, including U.S., Brazil and Taiwan.

To prevent the further spread of the disease, many countries adopt the policy of ‘stamping out’ in face of ASF, meaning affected swine farms need to be depopulated. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported more than 5 million pigs in Asia to be dead or culled as a causatum of ASF. The current losses represent more than 10 per cent of the total pig population in each of China, Vietnam, and Mongolia.
Farmers are not only hit with significant production losses; they will also have to incur hefty costs from carcasses disposal and herd rebuilding plan. Even then, given the hardy characteristics of the virus and the absence of any effective vaccine; the threat of ASF always looms around the corner.

In times like this, the best course of action is implementing a comprehensive farm hygiene program to prevent the entry of ASF. Strict biosecurity measures, which includes proper farm sanitation, must be employed to safeguard the swine population, and protect farmers' livelihood.

Intracare's Intra Hygiene Program equips farmers and production facilities with the tools essential to combat diseases and overcome production challenges. Apart from providing effective and efficient solutions for sanitation and disinfection, Intracare has also developed Intra Hydrocare, the #1 solution to guarantee clean drinking water quality for animals.

To achieve the highest hygiene standards possible with Intra Hygiene Program,  contact us at Behn Meyer Animal Nutrition: animal-nutrition@behnmeyer.com.my