GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - African swine fever is a contagious, viral disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar, leading to high mortality.

It does not affect people.

First detected in the early 1900s in Africa, the disease has spread to countries in Asia and Europe.

Boehringer Ingelheim, a pharmaceutical company, is working to create a vaccine.

Here are some basic questions and answers about African swine fever:

Why do so many people worry about African swine fever?

African swine fever is a viral disease that can have serious production and economic consequences for the swine industry, including potential export bans on pigs and pork products from affected countries.

Is African swine fever dangerous to humans?

African swine fever does not affect humans. It is not a public-health threat or a food-safety concern.

Why is African swine fever hard to eradicate?

There are numerous ways pigs can contract the disease. ASF can be spread through ticks, live or dead pigs and pork products, contaminated feed and by humans.

In fact, humans can carry the virus on their shoes or clothing, which means travelling from a country that has African swine fever to one that does not could lead to new outbreaks without proper bio security practices.

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The disease is highly contagious and spreads quickly through herds. It can survive days on contacted surfaces like vehicles or equipment, for weeks in raw meat and months in frozen meat products. It has an incubation period of five to 21 days, and infected animals do not always show clinical signs of the virus but can continue to shed the virus for an extended period.

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