What are the main transmission routes and incubation period of African swine fever?

Nowadays, whenever African swine fever is mentioned, people tend to be quite afraid. Pig farmers in particular are very worried about whether their own pigs have been infected, and whenever they hear of swine fever, they fear whether the pork sold on the market is safe. So what are the main transmission routes of African swine fever? How long is the incubation period of this virus?

1. What is African swine fever?

African swine fever is a disease that can infect domestic pigs, wild boars and various other types of pigs. It is an acute, hemorrhagic and highly virulent infectious disease, and it is a category of epidemic that China focuses on preventing. African swine fever has a short onset time; once the fever reaches as high as 40-42°C, it causes the pig's heartbeat to speed up and breathing to become difficult, mainly damaging the pig's spleen, lymph nodes, liver, kidneys, heart, etc. The incubation period is 4 to 19 days, and if acute infection occurs, the mortality rate of pigs reaches 100%.

2. What are the main transmission routes of African swine fever?

The source of African swine fever may be related to infected pig products that have not been processed at high temperatures and that come through import channels such as airports and ports. Their tissues and organs, secretions, excretions, blood, etc. contain the virus and can contaminate pig houses, equipment, bedding, feed, vehicles, etc. Healthy live pigs are mainly infected through contact with sick pigs as well as feed, drinking water, kitchen leftovers and other materials contaminated by the virus. In addition, other insects such as soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros that carry African swine fever can also spread the African swine fever virus by biting healthy live pigs.

At present, there is no effective drug that can treat it, nor is there a related vaccine for prevention. We can only strengthen supervision and testing of pigs, carry out strict closed management of pig-raising sites, and disinfect and isolate pig houses. To prevent sick pigs from infecting healthy pigs, once an outbreak is discovered, the sick pigs must be blockaded, isolated, culled, disinfected and subjected to harmless treatment, so as to prevent the spread of the epidemic from affecting other healthy pigs.

It is necessary to ensure that the items used for pigs, the feed they eat, the water they drink, etc. are all healthy and uncontaminated, and also to strengthen air circulation in pig pens, reduce breeding density, and prevent insect bites. Local quarantine institutions should strengthen management and registration, do a good job in screening sick pigs, and strengthen the intensity of veterinary patrols.

3. How long is the incubation period of the African swine fever virus?

The incubation period of African swine fever is 4-19 days. During the incubation period of African swine fever, there are no signs at all, and the pig farm cannot detect the arrival of African swine fever, so the pig farm carries out all kinds of activities as usual. For example, pigs are transported and transferred out, pigs are sold, the pig farm conducts breeding, and all kinds of other operations continue as usual. In this way, by the time the disease appears, almost the entire pig farm is full of pigs carrying the virus, and it may even implicate other pig farms.

Overall, the transmission routes of African swine fever are relatively broad. It can contaminate pig houses, equipment, bedding, feed, vehicles, etc. through tissues and organs, secretions, excretions, blood, etc., and then spread to normal pigs, so it is very difficult to control. The incubation period is generally 4-19 days, and there are no signs at all in the early stage.