Key result
Low relative humidity and high wind speed were significantly associated with an increased occurrence of classical swine fever outbreaks in China.
Why the study?
Classical swine fever causes huge economic losses in endemic countries like China, warranting evaluation of its spatiotemporal distribution and climatic correlates.
Observational (n=5,385)
Low relative humidity and high wind speed are associated with increased classical swine fever outbreaks in China, which remains endemic in some provinces despite control efforts.
Suggests meteorological factors may influence viral transmission dynamics; leaves open whether targeted environmental surveillance can prospectively.
Classical swine fever (CSF) is a viral disease that causes enormous economic losses in the swine industry in endemic countries including China. The aims of the current study were to describe the spatial distribution of annual CSF reports in China from 2005 to 2018, identify spatiotemporal clusters of annual CSF reports during this time period and to investigate the correlations between climate factors (rainfall, wind speed, temperature, vapour pressure and relative humidity) and the occurrence of CSF outbreaks. The strongest (Moran's index > 0.19), significant (p < .05) spatial clustering of reported outbreaks was observed during the first 4 years of the study period. This clustering was apparent in the four southern provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan. Five of the six significant (p ≤ .0001) spatiotemporal clusters occurred during the period 2005-2012. These were widely dispersed, with four clusters persisting for only 1 or 2 years, whereas two clusters (Jiangxi and Yunnan) persisted for 8 and 7 years, respectively. As a result of implementation of a national animal disease control plan and increasing coverage of vaccination, CSF outbreaks in China have generally been controlled and reduced, becoming sporadic in most provinces by 2018. We also confirmed that low relative humidity and high wind speed were significant weather variables associated with the occurrence of CSF. Furthermore, our study has confirmed that CSF is still endemic in some Chinese provinces, and we recommend that the national CSF control protocol be updated and standardized.
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Lu et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Classical swine fever (n=5,385). Weather factors (relative humidity and wind speed) vs. Periods with different weather conditions was evaluated on Occurrence of classical swine fever outbreaks. Low relative humidity and high wind speed were significantly associated with an increased occurrence of classical swine fever outbreaks in China.
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