South Africa’s R11 billion a year pork industry is now too feeling at direct risk from foot-and-mouth disease. An outbreak has been confirmed at a commercial piggery in the Free State and two outbreaks are suspected in piggeries in KwaZulu-Natal.
By Lloyd Phillips, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Foot-and-mouth disease is already widespread in South Africa’s beef industry and increasingly so in the dairy industry. However, commercial piggeries that typically hold pigs in houses often behind stringent biosecurity measures seem to have avoided contracting this virus, until now.
Dr. Thandi Chiappero is a veterinarian and head of consumer assurance at the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO). She explains that during the recent festive season, pigs at a commercial piggery in the Free State’s Sasolburg district and at two in KwaZulu-Natal’s Winterton/Bergville district began exhibiting symptoms similar to those that may have been caused by infections with the foot-and-mouth virus.
“The results of blood tests by the state have confirmed foot-and-mouth at Sasolburg. SAPPO is waiting for the test results of the blood samples taken from the piggeries in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We are interested to know the characteristics of the foot-and-mouth virus in any confirmed outbreaks in commercial piggeries. We would then also like to try to find out how foot-and-mouth was able to enter these piggeries. What we know for sure at this stage is that infection causes very bad mortalities in suckling piglets.”
Chiappero adds that currently there are no foot-and-mouth vaccines approved for use in pigs in South Africa. Though this situation may possibly change within the foreseeable future, implementing the best possible biosecurity protocols must always remain a piggery’s top priority.
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Important questions need answering
A well-placed source in South Africa’s pork industry and who asked not to be named here, says the confirmed and suspected infections across the three commercial piggeries “have everyone scratching their heads”.
“Given the physical symptoms seen by the veterinarians at the two piggeries in KwaZulu-Natal, it is also highly likely to be foot-and-mouth. We really want to know how the virus entered the piggeries. There are various theories doing the rounds.”
The source says it is essential and urgent that a science-based and sensible state-backed protocol be developed and implemented for managing foot-and-mouth outbreaks in South Africa’s commercial pigs industry. This is because many such piggeries house large numbers of pigs across different age groups and because the widely used farrow to finish production system can require that many pigs enter and exit the system on a weekly basis.
“From what I understand so far, suckling piglets are the worst-affected by what seems to be South Africa’s endemic strains of foot-and-mouth. I speak under correction, but older pigs may well recover from the physical symptoms in the short-term. However, pigs infected with foot-and-mouth are believed to produce and shed immense quantities of the virus.
“Also, how does foot-and-mouth impact the growth of pigs for slaughter and the fertility and productivity of breeding sows? There are many questions that need answers and solutions otherwise South Africa’s entire pork value chain could potentially be severely impacted.”
Chiappero says SAPPO has 373 pig producers and 140 801 breeding sows registered on its national database.
The source agrees that multi-layered biosecurity measures remain commercial piggeries’ best defence against all diseases, not just foot-and-mouth. Biosecurity measures must be continually assessed and adapted as any vulnerabilities are identified and as any new threats emerge.
“Yes, good biosecurity can come at significant costs, but these costs should be factored into a piggery’s regular expenditure and income. Short-cuts with biosecurity could end up causing a piggery to have to shut down entirely and permanently.”
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