Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 9/19/19


The virus that causes African swine fever (ASF) seemingly can survive a 30-day trip in contaminated feed, according to research by a team of scientists at Kansas State University.

The study calculated the half-life of the virus that causes ASF in nine feed ingredients exposed to shipment conditions over 30 days. The half-lives ranged from 9.6 to 14.2 days, indicating the “feed matrix environment promotes stability” for the virus, the preliminary report said. The feed or feed ingredients used in the study were placed in an environmental chamber that simulated humidity and temperature fluctuations the feed and virus would be subjected to in transatlantic shipments.

ASF has decimated the hog supply in China and reached other parts of Asia and Europe, and no effective vaccines or treatments have been developed so far, the researchers noted. The study also found that field reports implicated contaminated feed as playing a role in the introduction and transmission of ASF to farms in China and Latvia.

U.K. bracing for the worst
Meanwhile, a government official voiced concern ASF could arrive in the United Kingdom within the next year. U.K. Farming Minister George Eustice responded to a letter from the National Pig Association (NPA) by saying the setting for the risk of ASF spreading to the U.K. is at “medium,” in anticipation of an outbreak sometime in 2020.

Eustice said U.K. agencies are working to improve detection of illegal pork imports to reduce the risk of ASF entering the country. NPA is calling for even more vigilant efforts, noting that the hog losses in China from ASF already are equal to all of the pork production in the European Union.