Outbreaks often occur in poultry and livestock. Once outbreaks occur in poultry and livestock, they will have a great impact on people's daily life, cause people's panic, and the problem of dietary health is also very worrying. The previous bird flu had a great impact on people. Many people dared not eat chickens, and the business income of chicken farms suffered a great loss. Recently, the news that African swine fever has spread all over the world makes people worry about whether pork can still be eaten. This article brings you the news about African swine fever and the answer to whether pork can be eaten. Let's have a look.
Xinhua news agency, Beijing, January 15 - since August 2018, African pig plague has occurred in many places in China, causing huge economic losses to farmers. African swine fever is an infectious disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) infecting domestic pigs and wild boars. This virus' worthy of the name 'was born in Africa. How did it spread to the world and how did it come to China?
African classical swine fever virus first appeared in sub Saharan Africa. In 1921, African swine fever was first reported in Kenya, Africa. Retrospective research found that African swine fever occurred in Kenya in 1907. At first, the main hosts of African classical swine fever virus were African wild boar and Warthog. Ticks feeding on wild boar blood became the transmission vector.
Because adult wild boars rarely die of infection, African swine fever did not arouse enough vigilance at first. But later, people engaged in pig industry in Africa found that domestic pigs were not as resistant to the virus as wild boars. Once infected, both cubs and adults would have symptoms such as internal organ bleeding. The mortality rate was very high, and the transmission was particularly rapid, resulting in heavy losses in pig farms.
For quite a long time, the Sahara Desert blocked the northward spread of African classical swine fever. However, after the middle of the 20th century, with the increasingly frequent trade between people on all continents, the virus began to spread in Europe, America and Asia. One reason why African classical swine fever virus can 'travel around the world' is that it can survive for a long time under non high temperature conditions. For example, it can survive for several years in frozen meat and about half a year in semi cooked meat and ham or sausage without high temperature cooking.
In 1957, a flight from Angola, Africa to Portugal, Europe, the leftover pork products on the plane were used as swill and sent to a pig farm in Portugal. This is considered to be the source of African classical swine fever in Portugal that year. This is the first time African classical swine fever has landed in Europe. Since then, there have been outbreaks in Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries.
In the Americas, the African swine plague occurred in Cuba in 1971. It is reported that at that time, some passengers brought non quarantined sausages into Cuba, which became the source of local outbreak of African classical swine fever. This wave of epidemic has caused heavy losses to Cuba, killing about 500000 pigs nationwide. Subsequently, African swine plague also occurred in Brazil, Haiti and other American countries.
In 2007, African classical swine fever was introduced into the Caucasus. In June of that year, the health department of Georgia reported the discovery of African swine fever for the first time, and the source may be the contaminated pork products flowing into the territory. Subsequently, the epidemic also occurred in Russia, Ukraine and other countries.
At present, more than 60 countries and regions around the world have reported the situation of African swine plague.
In August 2018, China reported African classical swine fever for the first time. According to Huang Baoxu, deputy director of China animal health and Epidemiology Center, molecular epidemiological studies show that the African classical swine fever virus introduced into China belongs to genotype II, and the homology with the whole genome sequence of the virus strains published in Georgia, Russia and Poland is about 99.95%.
Huang Baoxu said: "generally, there are four main ways for the cross-border introduction of African swine fever: first, the international trade and smuggling of live pigs and their products, second, the pork and its products carried by international passengers, third, the kitchen residues on international means of transport, and fourth, the migration of wild boars."
Huang Baoxu believes that the possible ways of African classical swine fever into China are also the above categories. He pointed out: "China has frequent personnel exchanges and goods trade with African countries where swine fever has occurred; Pork prices are higher than those in neighboring countries, and smuggling activities are repeated; The number and population density of wild boars in border areas continued to increase. "
Globally, African classical swine fever virus was more active in 2018, and more than 5800 outbreaks were reported in more than 20 countries such as Russia, Romania and Poland. At the beginning of 2019, Mongolia announced on January 14 that there was African swine plague in four provinces and emergency measures had been taken.
African swine fever is rampant. Can pork still be eaten? People who like to eat pork can rest assured that African classical swine fever is not a zoonosis, and the virus will not infect humans. African classical swine fever virus is sensitive to high temperature. High temperature disinfection and other measures are helpful to prevent and control African classical swine fever.