By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana officials are trying to prepare the state’s pork industry in the event African swine fever (ASF) is diagnosed here.

Last month, the highly contagious disease was found in several areas of China. The country is the top pork producer in the world. China is also a source of animal feed and feed additives for the United States.

ASF is a usually fatal virus that only impacts hogs, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH). The disease does not impact food safety or human health.

The virus has been around for more than a century, said Dr. Maria Cooper, director of biodefense and high-consequence disease preparedness for BOAH. The agency and Indiana Pork co-hosted a meeting and webinar Sept. 4 to share preparation tips with producers, veterinarians and others in the industry.

China’s pork herd is estimated to be about 433 million, up to seven times larger than that in the United States. “Those numbers and the density (of the swine population in China) itself really set up for the potential for great spread throughout China and potentially globally,” Cooper explained.

Indiana ranks fifth nationally in hog inventory and is third in the number of swine imported. In 2017, the Hoosier State imported hogs from about 30 U.S. states and some Canadian provinces.

“A big concern is if this disease reaches the United States, that Indiana certainly is likely to have spread,” she noted. “Our chances of being able to contain and eradicate this disease in Indiana are definitely going to depend on how early we detect and contain it.”

The highly pathogenic avian influenza event in 2016 is providing guidance as the state prepares for the possibility of an ASF outbreak, said Dr. Bret Marsh, state veterinarian.

“When we look to a challenge such as African swine fever, we say, ‘Well, these were some lessons we learned in (the avian flu event) that we can apply to the pork industry’,” he said.

ASF may manifest in different forms, Cooper said, adding that producers and veterinarians should be aware of each.

With peracute, sudden death generally occurs with few clinical signs. Acute forms of the disease include high fever, lethargy, discolored skin and trouble breathing. The subacute form occurs with less severe clinical signs. With the chronic form of the disease, affected pigs may recover, but carry and shed the virus for several months.

If ASF comes to the United States, it will most likely be in the peracute or acute forms, Cooper pointed out. “The United States herd is completely naïve to this disease. The immune systems of our hogs haven’t seen this, so the chance of it just coming in and being a chronic or subacute form is probably going to be pretty rare.”

Researchers have not been able to create a successful vaccine for ASF, said Dr. Kelli Werling, BOAH director of swine health programs. “There has been work previously done with vaccine,” she explained. “Unfortunately, because of the nature of the virus, vaccine development is very difficult. It doesn’t provide complete protection.”

In planning for the potential of ASF entering the country, and Indiana specifically, BOAH’s goals are prevention, detection, containment and eradication.

Producers should heighten their on-farm biosecurity, including their visitor policy, employee training and disinfection protocols, Cooper said. ASF is a foreign animal disease and any suspicious cases must be reported to BOAH. Testing for the disease can only be done as part of a foreign animal disease investigation.

To help keep an outbreak contained, an area within a 6.2-mile radius would be quarantined. Methods used to eradicate the disease – depopulation, disposal, disinfection – will be chosen based on such factors as herd size, the extent of the outbreak and land availability, Cooper said.

Swine producers should contact BOAH to register their premises for the first time or to update and validate their existing premises, she noted. They should become familiar with the requirements for permitted movement in a quarantined area and should consider site-specific plans for eradication if the disease is found on their farms.

Veterinarians should use electronic certificates of veterinary inspection and should contact BOAH if a herd is showing clinical signs of ASF, Cooper said. They should also use premises identification barcodes on their laboratory submission forms.

Information on ASF is available on the BOAH website – www.in.gov/boah – and Indiana Pork’s, at www.pork.org/fad