Exactly how high is the mortality rate of African swine fever?

Recently, reports about African swine fever have really been enough to make people turn pale at the mention of pigs, and pork prices in many places have also been affected to some extent.

African swine fever is a pig disease caused by an acute, febrile, highly contagious filtered virus. It is characterized by a short course of illness, but the mortality rate is as high as 100%. The clinical manifestations are fever, cyanosis of the skin, and obvious hemorrhage of the lymph nodes, kidneys, and gastrointestinal mucosa.

Why does African swine fever make people feel as if facing a formidable enemy?

After this outbreak of swine fever in Shenyang, the actions of the relevant departments can be said to have been very rapid——it took only one day to complete the whole process from diagnosis to culling and then to harmless disposal. At present, it can be said that the epidemic has basically been effectively controlled.

The reason African swine fever makes people so afraid is mainly that African swine fever has the following 3 characteristics:

1. The swine fever virus spreads very quickly. It can be transmitted directly from pig to pig, and can also be transmitted indirectly to pigs through ticks;

2. Sick pigs cannot be treated, and the mortality rate is close to 100%;

3. Until now, no effective swine fever vaccine has ever been developed.

Although African swine fever does not directly cause physical harm to people, the outbreak of the disease can directly hit the pig farming industry. Especially in a country like ours where pork is the main source of protein, once a large-scale epidemic occurs, it will cause incalculable economic losses.

Therefore, even if only one confirmed sick pig is found, all pigs in the area must be culled.

Everyone should also not see words like “cull all” and assume that the scope of the epidemic is already very wide, or that it has caused an irreversible chaotic situation, thereby triggering unnecessary panic.