Click to Translate to English Click to Translate to French  Click to Translate to Spanish  Click to Translate to German  Click to Translate to Italian  Click to Translate to Japanese  Click to Translate to Chinese Simplified  Click to Translate to Korean  Click to Translate to Arabic  Click to Translate to Russian  Click to Translate to Portuguese  Click to Translate to Myanmar (Burmese)

PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL
123456
Forum Home Forum Home > Main Forums > Latest News
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - 1/4 of world's pigs, dead African swine flu
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

1/4 of world's pigs, dead African swine flu

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 1/4 of world's pigs, dead African swine flu
    Posted: November 05 2019 at 1:18pm

Menu

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
A quarter of all pigs have died this year due to African swine fever
DAILY-NEWS 5 November 2019
By Debora MacKenzie

A dead pig is put into a quarantined pit in Hanoi to stop the spread of African Swine Fever
A dead pig is put into a quarantined pit in Hanoi to stop the spread of African Swine Fever
MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images
A quarter of the world’s domestic pigs have died this year as a virus rampages across Eurasia, and that may be just the start. Half the pigs in China – which last year numbered 440 million, some 50 per cent of the world’s pigs – have either died of African swine fever (ASF) or been killed to stamp out the virus.

ASF comes from East Africa. In 2007, it reached Georgia in the Caucasus in contaminated meat, and in infected wild boar. Now, it is all over Russia and eastern Europe and infected wild boar have turned up as far west as Belgium. It is also spreading in east Asia, killing many pigs in Vietnam and elsewhere.

Read more: Human versus pig: Can we outwit the hog hordes?
ASF was spotted in China in August 2018. It is now in every province. The virus may have spread there from North Korea.

Advertisement

The only way to get rid of ASF is to kill infected herds. But while pigs on farms can be destroyed and replaced, the disease persists in wild boar and feral hogs, as well as in meat, which is increasingly sold abroad. “I predict ASF virus will remain endemic for some time in east Asia and eastern Europe, with constant introductions around the world,” says Dirk Pfeiffer of City University in Hong Kong. “Currently nobody on this planet has the solution to the problem.”

Read more: The porker paradox: A very human dilemma
Despite years of warnings from virologists, there is no vaccine. Most vaccines against viruses stimulate the body to make antibodies against viral structural proteins, such as those in the virus coating. These then stop the virus from entering cells, for example. But ASF, says Linda Dixon of The Pirbright Institute in Surrey, UK, is a large, complex virus, with two coatings and several ways of entering cells. Antibodies to various bits of it have never been enough to stop it.

We will now be able to look for better antibody targets, says Dixon, as scientists in China and Spain published the first detailed images of the virus last month (Journal of Biological Chemistry, doi.org/ddqz).

Experimental vaccines made of live, weakened ASF have worked better, says Dixon. These prompt specialised blood cells to recognise a range of viral proteins, but there are several hurdles to developing such vaccines for use. Meanwhile, she fears, ASF “could go global”.

Read more: 30 years ago, Haitians had to look on in horror as their pigs were slaughtered
Contact usHelpAbout usPrivacy & cookiesTerms & conditions
AdvertiseWrite for usEventsScience jobsSyndicationRSS feeds
Gift subscriptionsStudent subscriptionsEducational subscriptionsCorporate subscriptions
GET THE APP

FOLLOW US
© Copyright New Scientist Ltd.
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
CRS, DrPH View Drop Down
Expert Level Adviser
Expert Level Adviser


Joined: January 20 2014
Location: Arizona
Status: Offline
Points: 26660
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 06 2019 at 9:43pm
Amazing....Chinese Death Star will bring us all down with it.
CRS, DrPH
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 07 2019 at 3:28pm
I know you Doc,and Techno,say this cant jump spieces,i hope your correct,

However this Pig Pandemic is a big reminder why we must be vigilant......

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 07 2019 at 3:37pm
I don't think it has to jump species to be bad news. The number of pig deaths is staggering. The pork industry is probably holding its collective breath and saying: "Hail Mary"s repeatedly.

It may not threaten us virally, but it is going to cause big economic problems and bacon may get quite rare and pricey.

I have a bit of a problem with eating pork in general so no loss to me, but this is a slowly-unfolding disaster to some.
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 07 2019 at 3:39pm
Ps. It says a lot about Chinese farming methods too. So, whereas it is not a direct threat NOW, what about the next pig virus. Chuck has it about right there.
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 07 2019 at 4:03pm
There is a sliver of good news.

Asfivirus (the genus of species to which ASF belongs - and its the only one) are practicioners of multigene familiy replication. This slows down antigenic drift. So the species tends to remain unchanged over great periods of time. This slow evolution might be the reason it only affects the family of pigs. It also more than doubly reduces the possiblility of hopping species - and buys time to find vaccines and treatments.

I won't say it's impossible (Strange things happen in the world of genetics and we even have some DNA in common with broad beans!) but of all the billions of viruses primed to jump into humans, ASF is very close to the bottom of the list.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/asfarviridae

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/multigene-family
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
EdwinSm, View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: April 03 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 24065
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 07 2019 at 10:21pm
You can cure bacon, but now we need to find something to cure the pigs.

[Sorry, I am in a silly mood this morning, maybe something to do with the world were I am being white with snow]
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 08 2019 at 1:09am
LMAO.....

We hitting 40c tomorrow.....

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 08 2019 at 2:34am
I am seriously jealous, Carbon. A smattering of snow fell here -AND IT'S ONLY NOVEMBER! Snow does not fall here until january usually.
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 08 2019 at 1:09pm
40c is nothing to be jealous about, we had our winter clothing on last week it was 15c,

These massive swings in temperature are not normal ,we do have odd weather in our spring (now) but not like this

Plus major fires in the NSW,Queensland part of the country......
All while Africa floods......
The only news you get is either about Chump or Brexit.neither of which matter in the long run
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 08 2019 at 2:01pm
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 08 2019 at 3:27pm
Yep. Our climate is up the creek and we do not have a paddle.

Worse!!! Now we will have to argue (AGAIN!) with the ill educated twerps who think this is a symptom of global cooling.

I already feel like a stuck record.... uck recor....uck recor....uck recor ....uck recor.....I seem to be losing my voice.    
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 09 2019 at 8:36pm
39.5c yesterday,19c today...20c difference........
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
EdwinSm, View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: April 03 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 24065
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 09 2019 at 10:39pm
Meat prices continue to rise, according to the FAO's öatest (October 2019) report



Quote The FAO Meat Price Index* averaged 182.7 points in October, up 0.9 percent (1.7 points) from September, representing the ninth consecutive monthly increase. International price quotations for bovine and ovine meats continued to rise, with buoyant import demand, especially from China, providing support. Quotations for pig meat also increased, albeit moderately, reflecting continued import demand in Asia despite seasonally increasing supplies from Europe and higher export availabilities in Brazil. Prices of poultry meat fell under downward pressure due to increased export availabilities in main producing regions.

Back to Top
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 04 2019 at 4:07pm
African swine fever kills more than 20 wild boar in Poland

4 December 2019

Cases of deadly African swine fever in western Poland, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the German border, have led Poland's veterinary authorities to seal off forests and terrain in that area. Local farmers calling for hunters to eliminate wild boar in the region. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski/file)

An outbreak of African swine fever in Poland near the German border has killed 21 wild boar, the agriculture minister said Wednesday.

Authorities were adding 56 kilometers (34 miles) to a previously installed 80-kilometer (48-mile) fence; local hunters were instructed to eliminate all wild boar in the area near the town of Zielona Gora; and Army soldiers were combing forests in search of fallen animals, said Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski.

Ardanowski said the fence was aimed at protecting swine farms in the populous neighboring province near the city of Poznan. He said the disease had not been found in livestock.

More than 2,000 boar have been sickened or killed by the disease this year, most of them in the eastern region that borders Ukraine, where Ardanowski said the disease is believed to have originated.

Earlier this year, amid protests from animal rights groups, hunters killed 270,000 wild boar in eastern Poland in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading. That effort was largely successful until cases were discovered in the western part of the county last month.


Source:   https://phys.org/news/2019-12-deadly-swine-flu-outbreak-poland.html
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
EdwinSm, View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: April 03 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 24065
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 18 2019 at 9:49pm
Now it has spread to Indonesia...

Originally posted by BBC BBC wrote:

Indonesia has become the latest Asian country to face an outbreak of African swine fever, a deadly pig virus devastating farmers across the region.

On Wednesday, the country's agriculture ministry said nearly 30,000 pigs have died from the disease in North Sumatra.


It has had a wide impact in China and South East Asia

Quote Analysts at Rabobank expect Vietnam's pork production will drop by 21% this year, and by an additional 8% next year.

The Philippines could see a 13% decline in its pig herd in 2020, it said. Rabobank put China's herd loss at 55% this year.
....

The disease has also been detected in Mongolia, Cambodia, South Korea, North Korea, Myanmar and East Timor, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Outside of Asia, the OIE said the disease is also present in parts of Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

BBC Link
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2019 at 4:17am
The Pig farmers here are getting the jitters
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

Marcus Aurelius
Back to Top
ME163 View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: September 16 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 4552
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ME163 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2019 at 7:33am
China is going to panic as this thing gets much worse. Talked to some Chinese students at the local college. There is a sense of panic among Chinese pork producers and farmers in many areas. Get your ham and bacon while you still can find it at a decent price. Eventually, like all flu viruses it combines with other viruses.   
Back to Top
EdwinSm, View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: April 03 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 24065
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2019 at 10:34pm
Not just the farmers....this is hitting the consumers as well (from the article I linked above]

Originally posted by BBC BBC wrote:

Pork prices across Asia have increased, and in some cases, fuelled inflation.

China's most recent inflation figures showed consumer prices rising at 4.5%, the fastest level in nine years, with pork accounting for much of that increase.


Pork prices must have shot up if they made up most of the rate of inflation!

And the New Year celebrations are still to come!
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down