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Morelle K, Barasona JA, Bosch J, Heine G, Daim A, Arnold J, Bauch T, Kosowska A, Cadenas-Fernández E, Aviles MM, Zuñiga D, Wikelski M, Vizcaino-Sanchez JM, Safi K. Accelerometer-based detection of African swine fever infection in wild boar. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231396. [PMID: 37644835 PMCID: PMC10465979 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious wildlife diseases that circulate at the interface with domestic animals pose significant threats worldwide and require early detection and warning. Although animal tracking technologies are used to discern behavioural changes, they are rarely used to monitor wildlife diseases. Common disease-induced behavioural changes include reduced activity and lethargy ('sickness behaviour'). Here, we investigated whether accelerometer sensors could detect the onset of African swine fever (ASF), a viral infection that induces high mortality in suids for which no vaccine is currently available. Taking advantage of an experiment designed to test an oral ASF vaccine, we equipped 12 wild boars with an accelerometer tag and quantified how ASF affects their activity pattern and behavioural fingerprint, using overall dynamic body acceleration. Wild boars showed a daily reduction in activity of 10-20% from the healthy to the viremia phase. Using change point statistics and comparing healthy individuals living in semi-free and free-ranging conditions, we show how the onset of disease-induced sickness can be detected and how such early detection could work in natural settings. Timely detection of infection in animals is crucial for disease surveillance and control, and accelerometer technology on sentinel animals provides a viable complementary tool to existing disease management approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Morelle
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jose Angel Barasona
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jaime Bosch
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Georg Heine
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Andreas Daim
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Janosch Arnold
- Agricultural Centre Baden-Württemberg, Wildlife Research Unit, Aulendorf, Germany
| | - Toralf Bauch
- Agricultural Centre Baden-Württemberg, Wildlife Research Unit, Aulendorf, Germany
| | - Aleksandra Kosowska
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Estefanía Cadenas-Fernández
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Daniel Zuñiga
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jose Manuel Vizcaino-Sanchez
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Kamran Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
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Innovative Research Offers New Hope for Managing African Swine Fever Better in Resource-Limited Smallholder Farming Settings: A Timely Update. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12020355. [PMID: 36839627 PMCID: PMC9963711 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12020355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) in domestic pigs has, since its discovery in Africa more than a century ago, been associated with subsistence pig keeping with low levels of biosecurity. Likewise, smallholder and backyard pig farming in resource-limited settings have been notably affected during the ongoing epidemic in Eastern Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Caribbean regions. Many challenges to managing ASF in such settings have been identified in the ongoing as well as previous epidemics. Consistent implementation of biosecurity at all nodes in the value chain remains most important for controlling and preventing ASF. Recent research from Asia, Africa, and Europe has provided science-based information that can be of value in overcoming some of the hurdles faced for implementing biosecurity in resource-limited contexts. In this narrative review we examine a selection of these studies elucidating innovative solutions such as shorter boiling times for inactivating ASF virus in swill, participatory planning of interventions for risk mitigation for ASF, better understanding of smallholder pig-keeper perceptions and constraints, modified culling, and safe alternatives for disposal of carcasses of pigs that have died of ASF. The aim of the review is to increase acceptance and implementation of science-based approaches that increase the feasibility of managing, and the possibility to prevent, ASF in resource-limited settings. This could contribute to protecting hundreds of thousands of livelihoods that depend upon pigs and enable small-scale pig production to reach its full potential for poverty alleviation and food security.
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Casal J, Tago D, Pineda P, Tabakovski B, Santos I, Benigno C, Huynh T, Ciaravino G, Beltran‐Alcrudo D. Evaluation of the economic impact of classical and African swine fever epidemics using OutCosT, a new spreadsheet-based tool. Transbound Emerg Dis 2022; 69:e2474-e2484. [PMID: 35526144 PMCID: PMC9790658 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) are two major transboundary animal diseases of swine with important socioeconomic consequences at farm, subnational and national level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the direct cost of outbreaks and their control at country/regional level in four countries: namely CSF in Colombia in 2015-2016, the retrospective cost of ASF in the Philippines in 2019 and in a province of Vietnam in 2020 and a hypothetical ASF scenario in one region in North Macedonia, using the newly developed Outbreak Costing Tool (OutCosT). The tool calculates the costs of 106 different items, broken down by up to four types of farms, and by who assumes the cost (whether veterinary services, farmers or other stakeholders). The total cost of CSF in Colombia was US$ 3.8 million, of which 88% represented the cost of the vaccination campaign. For ASF, there were wide differences between countries: US$ 8,26,911 in Lao Cai (Vietnam), US$ 33,19,666 in North Macedonia and over US$ 58 million in the Philippines. While in the Philippines and Vietnam, 96-98% of the cost occurred in the affected farms, the highest expenditure in North Macedonia scenario was the movement control of the neighbouring and at-risk farms (77%). These important differences between countries depend on the spread of the disease, but also on the production systems affected and the measures applied. Apart from the financial cost, these diseases have other negative impacts, especially in the livelihoods of smallholder farms. The OutCosT tool also allows users to evaluate qualitatively other important aspects related to the epidemics, such as the impact on human health, the environment, animal welfare, socioeconomic vulnerability, trading and political response. OutCosT, which is a FAO corporate tool (available online at: https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/faoweb/animal-health/OutCosT_PIG.xlsx), can be an important tool to support country authorities to rapidly respond to a swine disease outbreak by estimating the associated costs and for advocacy purposes to mobilize resources at national or international levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Casal
- Department Sanitat i Anatomia AnimalsUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Damián Tago
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)Regional Office for Asia and the PacificBangkokThailand
| | - Pilar Pineda
- Department Sanitat i Anatomia AnimalsUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Blagojcho Tabakovski
- Food and Veterinary Agency of the Republic of North MacedoniaSkopjeNorth Macedonia
| | - Imelda Santos
- Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of AgricultureQuezon CityPhilippines
| | - Carolyn Benigno
- Philippine College of Veterinary EpidemiologistsQuezon CityPhilippines
| | - Tran Huynh
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)RomeItaly
| | - Giovanna Ciaravino
- Department Sanitat i Anatomia AnimalsUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Daniel Beltran‐Alcrudo
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)Regional Office for Europe and Central AsiaBudapestHungary
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The study of antigen carrying and lesions observed in pigs that survived post African swine fever virus infection. Trop Anim Health Prod 2022; 54:264. [PMID: 35960359 PMCID: PMC9372933 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-022-03229-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) is a dangerous infectious disease of domestic pigs and wild boar caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV). In Vietnam, the ASF epidemic is gradually turning into an endemic status with several recovered pigs post infection, but there were not many studies evaluating the role of these pigs in the epidemiological context in Vietnam. The aim of this study was to evaluate the viral antigen distribution and lesions in recovered pigs post ASFV infection. Ten pigs recovered from ASF at 6 weeks of age were monitored and assessed for anti-ASFV antibodies and viremia until slaughter. The five major organs (lung, liver, spleen, kidney, and lymph nodes) of these pigs were evaluated for microscopic lesions and viral antigen distribution. Anti-ASFV antibody was consistently observed to be high (S/P% ≥ 80) until slaughter, while viremia levels were very high (7 log10 copies/mL) at 6 weeks of age and gradually decreased to undetectable levels at 12 weeks of age (6th week post-infection). At slaughter, the ASFV-associated lesions in the organs of these pigs were mild and nonspecific. Seven out of ten pigs recovering from ASF still carried the virus in surveyed organ tissues, although not in the serum. These findings suggest that ASF-recovered pigs may be potential carriers of the virus, contributing to the increased complexity in the current endemic status in Vietnam.
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Cooper TL, Smith D, Gonzales MJC, Maghanay MT, Sanderson S, Cornejo MRJC, Pineda LL, Sagun RAA, Salvacion OP. Beyond Numbers: Determining the Socioeconomic and Livelihood Impacts of African Swine Fever and Its Control in the Philippines. Front Vet Sci 2022; 8:734236. [PMID: 35224068 PMCID: PMC8866713 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.734236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The impacts of African Swine Fever (ASF) have most frequently been described quantitatively though it is increasingly acknowledged these impacts extend well beyond numbers. During 2020, a multidisciplinary team of researchers developed a framework for Socioeconomic and Livelihood Impact Assessment (SELIA) of livestock diseases in smallholder communities. Two key innovations within this SELIA framework are the integration of sustainable livelihoods concepts to capture rich information beyond financial impacts, and the inclusion of stakeholders across the value chain, beyond farmers. This paper focuses on the findings from one of the first applications of the SELIA framework. In late 2020 the research team applied participatory tools from the SELIA Framework (8 focus group discussions, 14 key informant interviews, and 2 network mapping activities) to gather data to describe the impact of ASF in backyard pig-farming communities and value chains. This was undertaken across two locations in the Philippines, in turn highlighting potential leverage points for intervention. Owing to COVID-19 travel restrictions and risks, modifications to training and field activities were made. Findings from focus groups and interviews revealed the deep, emotional impacts of ASF and the associated control measures. Pigs were considered pets by many farmers and some women described them as being like their children. Animal health-workers (AHWs) also recognised the emotional toll on farmers and were sometimes strongly criticised by community members due to their involvement in depopulation campaigns. Misinformation early in the epidemic also led farmers to hide their animals from AHWs, and to dispose of them inappropriately. While the overall impact of ASF on society was negative, the impacts across different communities, scales of production and different value chain actors varied. The losses experienced by backyard farmers resulted in significant losses to linked value chain actors, such as input suppliers. This trial application of the SELIA framework revealed some complex and varied impacts of ASF. This included significant differences in livelihood and socio-economic impacts amongst different actors within value chains and also among different categories of actors (for example small, medium and large-scale traders). Repeated themes and triangulated findings suggest two leverage points for further consideration. Firstly, it is recommended a One Welfare approach to ASF control in the Philippines is explored. Emphasising careful communication between animal health-workers and farmers, and humane and sensitive pig depopulation practices. Secondly, consideration of ASF support programs tailored to sectoral and specific communities is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarni L. Cooper
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: Tarni L. Cooper
| | - Dominic Smith
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Mark Jaypee C. Gonzales
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Pili, Philippines
| | - Marlon T. Maghanay
- College of Veterinary Science and Medicine, Central Luzon State University, City of Munoz, Philippines
| | - Sunny Sanderson
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Lohreihleih L. Pineda
- College of Veterinary Science and Medicine, Central Luzon State University, City of Munoz, Philippines
| | - Rose Ann A. Sagun
- College of Veterinary Science and Medicine, Central Luzon State University, City of Munoz, Philippines
| | - Oliver P. Salvacion
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Pili, Philippines
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