Page 14 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Vaccination advice in NFF workplace guide
communities safe.” “Employers also have legal obliga- tions and the NFF COVID-19 workplace guide is a valuable first point of reference as to how these re- sponsibilities relate to preventing the spread
document had been updated to reflect the most up-to-date health guidelines and changes in the under- standing of the virus and how it’s spread, and also included is a section on vaccina- tions.
THE National Farmers’ Federa- tion has recently re- leased an update to its COVID-19 workplace guide, which includes advice on vaccinations and the workplace.
Ms Simson said.
“The NFF continues
First released in April 2020, the guide contains prac- tical information in- cluding quarantine requirements for new workers, social dis- tancing at work and financial support, as well as work health and safety and indus- trial relations consid- erations.
to support the roll out of the vaccine and encourages eligible farmers and workers to get vaccinated as a matter of priority.
NFF president Fiona Simson said, “Farmers and farm workers have a responsibility to keep themselves, their team and their
“Vaccination is the key to all parts of Australian life re- turning to normal, in- cluding agriculture,”
Keeping workers safe and navigating complex border rules is front of mind for many farmers.
of COVID-19.”
Ms Simson said the
“As employers, farmers have an im- portant role to play in facilitating vaccina- tion for their workers.
“The guide now in- cludes practical infor- mation on what steps employers can take to encourage vaccine uptake in their work- force.”
The NFF recently wrote to National Cab- inet calling again for a national approach to border crossings.
The NFF COVID-19 workplace guide contains practical information including quarantine require- ments for new workers, social distancing at work and financial support, as well as work health and safety and industrial relations considerations.
“Especially in peak times, farmers need certainty so we can keep doing what we do best – keeping su- permarket shelves stocked, supporting rural communities and powering the na- tional economy.”
Ms Simson said as a starting point all states should adopt the National Agricultural Workers Code.
“At its next meeting, National Cabinet must affirm the essential nature of food and fibre production and take action to recog- nise this,” Ms Simson said.
“Farmers are com- mitted to doing their bit to keep their fami- lies, workers and at- risk communities safe.
A highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of pigs, ASF is responsible for serious economic and produc- tion losses worldwide. Photo: Elsa Tonkinwise
African swine fever global update
AFRICAN swine fever can be spread by live or dead, domestic or wild pigs and pork products, and due to the high envi- ronmental resistance of the virus, transmission can occur via contami- nated feed and fomites such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, knives, equip- ment and so on.
neighbouring state of Sarawak were declared ASF control zones. Other recent ASF out- breaks in Asia
the latest cases were in the two northern prov- inces where the great ma- jority of previous cases had occurred.
Six new outbreaks in South Africa
A highly contagious haemorrhagic viral dis- ease of pigs, ASF is re- sponsible for serious economic and production losses worldwide. Further ASF outbreaks reported by Malaysia
In two regions of the Philippines, the Depart- ment of Agriculture has taken measures to sup- port former pig owners whose animals were culled as a result of ASF.
Two of the 3000 pigs in the village died as a result of the outbreak at the end of July.
Recently, Malaysia’s veterinary authority reg- istered 13 further ASF outbreaks in Sabah state on the island of Borneo with the World Organisa- tion for Animal Health.
In addition to seven out- breaks in a total of 112 backyard pigs, one wild boar in the area had also tested positive for the ASF virus.
To qualify, premises must be disinfected and test negative for ASF virus.
Directly affected were a total of 452 pigs in herds ranging from 25 to 207 animals.
Directly affecting 19 wild pigs and 142 do- mestic animals, these cases occurred between early March and August 8.
ASF outbreaks have also been recorded in re- cent weeks in Khabarovsk oblast and Primorsky krai in the same federal district of Russia.
A local official said the aim of providing the sen- tinels was to kick-start backyard pig production again, restoring the liveli- hood of affected farmers, increasing domestic pork production and bringing pig meat prices down.
In the province of Gauteng, a backyard herd of 59 pigs tested positive for the ASF virus in mid- August.
Eight of the outbreaks were in backyard herds in villages across four dis- tricts in the state.
In South Korea, the number of wild boar in- fected with ASF since October 2019 had risen to1584asoftheendof August.
Of these, 29 animals died with the others de- stroyed.
Each herd comprised up to 54 pigs.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agri- culture Organisation, all
In the Soccsksargen region on the island of Mindanao, a similar scheme has been initi- ated.
Together 106 outbreaks affecting more than 46,600 pigs have been reported to the OIE in the three ongoing ASF outbreak series in South Africa.
At the end of August, three districts in the
At the end of last month, the Western Cape state veterinarian expressed concerns over the spread of ASF in the Cape Town area and poor biosecurity practices by many pig owners.
Late August, three new outbreaks of ASF were recorded by Russia’s vet- erinary authority in the far eastern federal dis- trict.
However, a primary case in the Sokcho city region of Gangwon prov- ince has been reported by local media.
At the end of August, South Africa’s animal health agency registered with the OIE a further six outbreaks of ASF in domestic pigs.
According to the report to the OIE, backyard herds of between nine and 47 pigs in different districts of Amur oblast were affected.
Philippines kick-starts return to backyard pig raising
The largest of these out- breaks was in a village in the Chris Hani region of the Eastern Cape.
They bring the number of outbreaks in Amur to eight since July.
Around 6000 sentinel pigs will be offered to chosen farmers in 60 areas of Central Luzon previously hit by ASF.
ASF was also confirmed at four locations in Cape Town in the Western Cape from mid-July to early August.
Of these, 96 died.
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Naturally ahead
Former pig farmers in two villages in the prov- ince of North Cotabato are set to receive the first of up to 90 sentinel ani- mals.
If these pigs survive for at least 90 days, con- trolled repopulation will start.
Food for Mzansi re- ported the disease present in six districts at that time and ASF was suspected in a seventh.
No cases of ASF have been reported in the province since January.
Despite the disease risks, infected pigs are not culled in South Africa.
At each location, prem- ises are inspected for safety standards.
This is against the policy of the national department of agriculture, according to the veterinarian.
Adherence to strict bi- osecurity protocols is a requirement for partici- pants.
There is no financial compensation for animals that are culled for this reason, and farmers in- stead bury their dead pigs on site using lime.
ASF was first detected in the Philippines in July 2019.
According to the OIE, 622 outbreaks were of- ficially reported across many provinces as at February 2021.
No further cases of ASF have been recorded on South Africa’s commer- cial pig farms to date.
At the time, direct losses of pigs were put at almost 427,000.
These have high biose- curity standards but some are located within 2km of known ASF outbreaks.
At the beginning of September, the Depart- ment of Agriculture stated that new cases of the disease are in sharp decline.
Despite being quaran- tined, some pig owners still move infected ani- mals off their premises.
Page 14 – Australian Pork Newspaper, October 2021
www.porknews.com.au