The farming sector has been dealt another blow as the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that a new outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected on a farm in Gauteng.
Farms in Gauteng, North West and the Free State have been placed under precautionary quarantine following the outbreak of swine flu.
Department spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said the outbreak was first detected on a farm in Gauteng and that the provincial Veterinary Services launched an investigation to identify any properties that could have had direct or indirect contact with the affected farm.
“The ASF (African Swine Fever) negative status of these farms will be confirmed before the precautionary quarantine can be lifted. The source of the infection on the positive farm has not yet been identified, but it is believed that the infection was already on the farm from mid- December,” Ngcobo added.
He said the swine flu outbreak began in 2019 in the country, but slowed down, with very few cases reported since October 2022.
Ngcobo said: “Control measures are based on quarantine, and movement controls, with awareness, drives to highlight essential biosecurity measures to enable pig owners to prevent infection of their pigs. This outbreak of ASF on a farm with good biosecurity measures in place again illustrates that the virus is highly contagious.”
The department has since urged all pig farmers and keepers to only buy pigs directly from known healthy herds and to prevent contact between their pigs or wildlife.
“Visitors should be discharged from coming into the area where pigs are being kept. Anyone who has contact with pigs should wash their hands before and after handling the pigs; and before moving to other farms, one should ensure that they have thoroughly showered and only use clean clothes, shoes and equipment,” the department went on to state.
Pig owners have been encouraged to be very vigilant and to report any increased pig deaths or unusual symptoms to the local state veterinary office.
Source: News24, IOL, The South African, Times Live, image from Twitter: @KLKLandbou