Red alert! Farmers in Greven are fighting African swine fever

Red alert! Farmers in Greven are fighting African swine fever

Everything in agriculture is currently centered around an explosive topic: African swine fever (ASF). Heike Wattendrup-Nordhoff, a committed farmer from Greven, carries out a daily inspection of her pigsty. Your goal? Minimizing the risk factors for the highly contagious animal disease. A strict hygiene protocol is essential. Before Heike enters the stable, she takes off her shoes and jacket, climbs over a barrier, puts on overalls and wears clean boots and a hat. This effort is necessary because the recently detected cases of ASF represent a clear wake-up call for all pig farmers - mistakes can have devastating consequences, both for the animals and for the entire industry. According to wn.de, pig farmers should take action to protect their stocks.

But what exactly is African swine fever? This highly contagious and notifiable animal disease was first detected in Germany in autumn 2020. So far, cases have only occurred in wild boars and individual domestic pigs, but the risk of spread is real and is being closely monitored by agricultural authorities. In order to avoid introduction into domestic and livestock populations, strict epidemic hygiene measures are necessary. These include not only compliance with hygiene standards, but also educating farmers. Q-s.de emphasizes that ASF is only dangerous for pigs and that people cannot become infected - yet the economic and emotional consequences for companies are devastating.

Hygiene rules and precautionary measures

With the aim of preventing the spread of ASF, agriculture is challenged. “It’s important to have a good hand,” emphasizes Heike. In each stable, protective clothing and footwear must be strictly separated to avoid the transmission of germs. According to the specialist website for livestock farming, hygiene locks are required for changing protective clothing, where disposable protective clothing should also be provided for people outside the company (nutztierhalte.de). Before and after each visit to the stable, hands must be washed thoroughly with soap and water and shoes must be treated in disinfectant tubs. Only disinfectants that have been tested by the German Veterinary Medical Society may be used.

The requirements are extensive: feed, bedding and other objects that come into contact with pigs must be protected from wild boars. Hunters in particular are challenged and should ensure that neither hunting dogs nor hunting utensils come into contact with the stables and the means of production there. In large stables, cleaning and disinfection measures are also essential when changing between different stable units.

It is clear: African swine fever represents a major challenge for the entire pig farming industry. Farmers must be prepared to get involved and take responsibility. Awareness of hygiene and prevention is required in order to guarantee the well-being of the pigs in the future and to keep agriculture running in the region.