African Swine Fever

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

A week after about 500 pigs were culled in Kerala’s Wayanad district to prevent the spread of African swine fever detected there.

• African swine fever(ASF) is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs which is responsible for serious economic and production losses.
• It is caused by a large DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family, which also infects ticks of the genus Ornithodoros.

It is transmitted among pigs through:

• Direct contact with infected domestic or wild swines
• Indirect contact through ingestion of contaminated substances or
• Contaminated material such as food waste, feed, or garbage or through biological vectors such as ticks.
• It is not a danger to human health, but it has devastating effects on pig populations and the farming economy.
• There is currently no effective vaccine against ASF.
• The virus is highly resistant in the environment, meaning that it can survive on clothes, boots, wheels, and other materials.
• It can also survive in various pork products, such as ham, sausages or bacon.