Page 9 - Australian Pork Newsapaper

African swine fever – a year later from China
☛ from P8
lion kg per year – they
would consume the Aus- tralian herd in less than four days.
China alone accounts for 46 percent of the pork eaten on the planet.
Therefore, if in South East Asia we have a short fall of 300 million pigs this would be a shortfall of 10 percent of protein.
To compensate, we will require the number of chickens to increase by 25 percent or the number of cows to increase by nearly 40 percent!
This disease causes the loss of all pigs – meaning recovery is not going to be easy.
Has the virus changed in the last 12 years since it first entered Georgia?
Being a DNA virus, ASF has undergone no signifi- cant changes to the virus, which entered Georgia in 2007.
The ASF isolates throughout South East Asia or Eastern Europe are still basically the same type II.
The virus does produce a variety of clinical signs and mortality rate, which
has nothing to do with virulence factors.
The clinical signs in South Asia kills 30-70 per- cent of the affected pigs.
The major clinical signs are a high temperature 42C with red ears and blotchy red skin.
Haemorrhages may be seen in the skin.
At post-mortem, which may not be advised as it releases vast amounts of virus, which then need to be cleaned up, the major pathological findings are an enlarged spleen, haem- orrhages and haemorrhag- ic lymph nodes.
Any suspicion of swine fever must be notified. African Swine Fever in legal or illegal imported meat
The island nations around infected South East Asian are registering ASF virus in meat im- pounded at their boarders.
With a rate of infected meat in Asia of about 30 percent in illegal import- ed meat.
This has been found not only in other Asian coun- tries but also at home, here in Australia.
While this is obviously
a risk there is still a big disconnect between ASF in meat and the presence of this meat on a pig and then being fed to a pig.
We praise our border patrol guys, not only for great television, but active security protection of our industry.
Thanks guys!
South East Asian pigs
One potential signifi- cant side-effect of African swine fever is the pres- ence of several island pigs who are different species to Sus scrofa.
These can be divided roughly into three groups; Bearded pigs, Wattle pigs and the smallest pig from Assam, Sus salvanius.
While Sus salvanius is endangered the other spe- cies are holding their own.
But the impact of ASF could plummet their pop- ulation into a critical en-
dangered position.
Australian pig herd
We must keep ASF out of Australia.
The combination of wild boars, feral pigs and out- door pigs will make any biosecurity programme very difficult.
How can Australia as- sist South East Asia?
The Australian herd isn’t big enough to substantial- ly supply pork to fill in the chasm of depleted pork.
Any export sales to sup- port the pork price would obviously be helpful to sustain the industry.
But the Australia excel- lent health status could be capitalised upon to produce gilts and breed- ing stock to restock the devastated herds of South East Asia.
Summary
African swine fever type II continues its march
across the Northern Hem- isphere scything a swath through the Sus scrofa population, while it is not a human pathogen its ef- fects on the human soci- ety and our global food supply is only just starting to be felt.
Dr John Carr, James Cook University
Australia can help South East Asia through pork exports but also more importantly through breeding stock.
ASF case from the Ukraine. Note the flies. If they get into your car you can transport them to the next farm.
Pig in figure 5 presented with large haemorrhagic lymph nodes, enlarged spleen, red ears and blood splashing.
Outdoor breeding – the feral infected pig could do the same.
www.porknews.com.au
AUSTRALIAN PORK LIMITED
ELECTED DIRECTOR VACANCY
As required by Australian Pork Limited’s (APL) constitution, two elected directors of Australian Pork Limited will resign at the AGM being held on 14 November 2019.
Two Elected Director positions will become vacant on Thursday
14 November 2019.
Delegates will vote to elect two Elected Director candidates to the vacant positions at the AGM.
Nominations are being called for the APL elected director vacancies. A producer member of APL or a current APL Director can nominate a person(s) to stand for election as an Elected Director.
The Funding Agreement between APL and the Commonwealth Government (Department of Agriculture) and the APL Constitution both require a ‘skills- based Board’.
To ensure a skills-based Board is maintained, nominated candidates who are not existing Directors of the Board are required to provide a curriculum vitae together with a contribution to the following collective Board core skill and experience competencies:
a. Governance
b. Financial management
c. Government relations/public policy/
administration
d. Production
e. Processing
f. Food industry
g. Promotion and marketing
h. Market development and international
marketing
i. R&D/R&D administration
j. R&D commercialisation and technology
transfer
k. Conservation and natural resource
management
l. Business and management acumen.
The APL People & Culture Board Committee will review all nominations received to determine the impact of each candidate’s skills on the maintenance of a skills-based Board.
Nominated candidates must provide a consent to the nomination.
Nominations for these positions close at 5.00pm on Thursday 10 October 2019.
For further information, to nominate a candidate(s) or to obtain a consent to nomination form, please contact:
Mr Damien Howse Company Secretary, Australian Pork Limited PO Box 4746,
Kingston ACT 2604
Phone: 02 6270 8805 damien.howse@australianpork.com.au
ASF detections in illegally imported meat (to Jan 2019).
Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2019 – Page 9