Key result
Anthropogenic activities and nearby infected sites linked to African Swine Fever introduction in commercial farms.
Why the study?
African Swine Fever outbreaks had been reported in backyard pigs and wild boars in Serbia, but data on outbreaks in large commercial pig farms were lacking.
Observational (n=19,000)
No
Anthropogenic factors and proximity to backyard farms are key risk factors for African Swine Fever outbreaks in large commercial pig farms.
May warrant stricter biosecurity near waste-yards and backyards; hypothesis-generating for ASF prevention in commercial farms.
The first confirmed case of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Serbia occurred in 2019. Since then, numerous outbreaks in domestic pigs and wild boars have been reported. Until April 2021, all the detected ASF cases were in backyard pigs. Beside backyard and smallholders farming systems as a dominant pig production system in Serbia, large commercial pig farms can also be found, located mostly in villages. In the beginning of April 2021, a large commercial farrow-to-finish pig farm in Serbia with almost 19,000 animals was affected with the ASF virus. The pig farm analysed in this paper is located in an area where ASF was confirmed earlier in both backyard and wild boars. In this study, we describe the overall epidemiological course of the ASF outbreak. Epidemiological investigation using a hypothesis-based approach was conducted in order to reconstruct the disease course until the official notification. All the available data from the farm were analysed with the aim to determine the high-risk period (HRP). Some of the key points to consider when it comes to the sources of infection and entry route of ASF are the following: contamination of the area in the immediate vicinity of the farm, risky human activities, irregularities and some omissions in the external farm biosecurity and immediate proximity of the city waste-yard where the communal waste is disposed of. It was concluded that when commercial pig farms are surrounded by villages with a large number of backyards, hence the anthropogenic factor is the key risk factor for ASF spreading.
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Nešković et al. (2021) conducted an observational in African Swine Fever (n=19,000). Anthropogenic factors and proximity to infected areas was evaluated on Source of infection and entry route of African Swine Fever. Anthropogenic activities and proximity to infected backyards and a city waste-yard likely contributed to the introduction of African Swine Fever into a large commercial pig farm.
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