FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION

- FAO -

CONSULTANCY REPORT

African swine fever in West Africa
Togo - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea-Bissau

1 - 16 June 1998

TCP RAF/7822 (E)

P.-C. Lefèvre

July 1998

Introduction

The consultancy had two objectives (see Terms of Reference - Appendix 1) : i) to participate at the Regional technical worshop on African swine fever (ASF) in West Africa and ii) to assess more specifically the situation of the disease in 3 countries, namely Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in order to write the frame work and guidelines of an ASF control/eradication project.

The visit to Guinea-Bissau had to be canceled due to the political events that started on June 10 in this country. However, other FAO consultants - Drs Nyakahuma and Verhulst - made a visit in this country just before the events and collected informations that were used to write down the Technical cooperation project (TCP).

I - The Regional technical workshop on African swine fever

The worshop was organised jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture of Togo and FAO in Lomé on June 3 and 4, 1998, was entitled : Regional technical worshop on African Swine Fever Control-eradication and emergency reactions in West Africa.

It was attended by 27 participants coming from 13 countries : Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Côte-d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo as well as by 6 FAO consultants.

The discussions of the round tables organised by the FAO consultants are to be published as the Proceedings of the Lome Worshop.

The views of the participants on the measures to be taken to first control and then eradicate ASF from West african countries were summarised in a list of Propositions (Table n-1).

The eradication of ASF appeared to all the participants as a prerequisite for the development of the pig sector in order, for these countries, to cope with the food security problems they are facing.

II - The situation of ASF in West Africa

II-1 Geographical distribution

Accordin to the report of the participants and the results of the FAO consultants, the situation of ASF is as follows :

- Countries with a small pig population where ASF is enzootic : Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-

- Countries with a large pig population where ASF is enzootic : Nigeria, Cameroon

- with low risk of introduction or re-introduction : Guinea, Côte-d'Ivoire, Liberia

After long discussions on the strategies, the methods and the means to be implemented in order to prevent and/or eradicate ASF from West Africa, the participants propose to the National Authorities :

- At the operational level :

1.1. that national systems for epidemiological surveillance be developed in order to collect and process the informations obtained from all the actors of the animal production sector;

1.2. that information and communication programmes as well as training sessions for stock owners and technicians be organised in order to obtain their full participation which is a condition of success;

1.3. that all measures aiming at the development of professional organisations (breeders, butchers,...) be taken as their efficacy has been demonstrated in Côte d'Ivoire and Benin,

1.4. that diagnostic capacities of the central laboratories be improved so that they could perform at least the direct immunofluorescence and the ELISA tests. Moreover, exchanges and collaboration between the laboratories in Africa should be reinforced,

1.5. that control the borders be strengthened with the cooperation of the Animal health defence groups (GDS) and the professional organisations,

1.6. that direct and regular relations be installed between the Animal health services of neighbouring countries in order to obtain rapid informations on the situation of ASF in the countries,

1.7. that a system for compensation be thought of in case of stamping-out, this compensation being an crucial factor for the success of the control measures,

1.8. that research be undertaken :

- molecular characterization and comparison of the West African strains isolated during the past years in order to establish relations and to trace the origin,

- epidemiological studies especially to precise the exact distribution of the ticks (Ornithodoros erraticus and O. moubata), and to assess the role of wildlife,

1.9. that restocking be based on cross breeding of local sows by artificial insemination with liquid semen of tested boars (Large White and Landrace).

At the institutioanl level

1.1. that development policy of the traditional breeding systems be implemented with access for the breeders to micro-credits in order to do the necessary investments,

1.2. that creation of professional organisations of breeders or other operators in the pig sector be facilitated in order to implement animal health defence groups (GDS),

1.3. that emergency funds be organised,

1.4. that the pigs of the modern sector be slaughtered in specialized abattoirs,

1.5. that an Inter-ministry committee for the control of epizootics be installed in order to coordinate the implementation of the control measures,

1.6. that the preocedure recommended by FAO (Prevention and control of transboundary diseases - FAO N-133, Rome, 1997) be implemented.

Countries where ASF is epizootic

1 - ASF was introduced in Benin in July 1997, but the first measures were taken only four months later. The pig population was estimated at 623 000 heads of wich more than 50% have disapeared due to the ASF epizootic : nearly 350 000 pigs died of the disease and 42 000 were slaughtered.

ASF outbreaks occured mainly in the southern areas of the country (high density of pig breeding farms). The disease was stopped at 150 km north of Cotonou.

The measures consisted in campaigns of information and sensibilisation for the pig owners with the collaboartion of the professional associations (pig breeder associations, butchers and processing specialists associations, etc.), followed by a stamping-out policy in the evolving foci.

Complete eradication could be possible in the near future due to three new factors :

- pigs were locked in family-type piggeries when the rainy season started, in order to avoid damages to the cultures,

- the ministry of Agriculture has decided to re-inforce, from end of june and on, the control measures in order to extinguish the remaining foci,

- Euorpean Union will bring a financial support for compensation when pigs are slaughtered.

The situation in Benin could be considered as rather good if the situation in Togo was not so explosive.

2 - It seems that ASF entered Togo in November 1997 at the border with Benin. At that time, there were more or less 210 000 pigs in the country. Mortalities were reported in the southern areas of Togo : between 4 and 5 000 pigs died and 2 500 heads were slaughtered. At the beginning, there was no compensation and the pig breeders reacted in hiding their animals. Therefore, ASF spread towards the north. Luckily, IFAD has proposed a financial support to the slaughtering policy breeders on the basis of 2 500 CFAF/head.

In the first days of June, an outbreak was reported in Kara, which could be very dangerous for Benin, Ghana and Burkina-Faso as Kara is a very important crossroad.Another outbreak was suspected at the border with Burkina-Faso but it was not ASF.

Countries that are free from the disease

Due to the ASF situation in Togo, the threat is great for the disease to enter neigbourhing countries, Ghana, Burkina-Faso and to re-enter Benin in the northern provinces.

This threat has to be taken seriously when one knows how difficult it is in Africa to control the animal movements. The propositions of the participants to the Worshop deal with this constraint and the epidemiological situation.

For the countries with no common borders with Togo and Benin, the situation is not as worrying, the others countries acting as buffer zones. It seems that the disease travels only on short distances (from few to a hundred kilometres) with stock breeders or pig traders who want to buy or sale animals. Nevertheless, it is recommended to strengthen the epidemiological surveillance.

In conclusion, it appears that the situation of ASF is rather explosive as the risks of diffusion in the region are quite high. It is, therefore, strongly recommended to improve the diagnostic capacities and the early reaction systems in the neighbouring countries where ASF has not yet been reported. The more important action to be taken is to implement rapidly all the control measures in Togo : a compensation system and a full participation of the breeders associations being the key conditions to control the disease.

In Guinea, the situation is not as complicated, as the risk of introduction of the disease comes mainly from Côte-d'Ivoire from where ASF has been eradicated. However the situation in the sub-region is alarming. Refugees coming with their pigs from Guinea-Bissau may lead to outbreaks in the north of Guinea.

Countries with a large pig population where ASF is enzootic

Countries like Cameroon with a population estimated at 1 million of pigs and Nigeria with 7 millions of heads, constitute a very difficult problem. The 2 countries have been infected for years: Nigeria has reported its firts outbreak in 1973 and Cameroon in 1982.

As the pig breeders do not report mortalities to the veterinary services, the exact distribution of ASF in Nigeria is not known. The FAO consultants noticed when visiting Nigeria that ASF occured at least in 2 States : Lagos State and Ogun State. Confirmation by the laboratory is not possible for the moment. Therefore, one can think that ASF is not a recently introduced disease, and that, on the contrary, it has been enzootic for many years.

In Cameroon, the situation is more precise. The 1982 epizootic killed more than half of the pig population and the stamping-out policy in the infected area cost 2.7 billiuons of CFAF. The semi-intensified farms were protected but many small pig breeders gave up pig breeding and did not restock. In spite of the control measures, ASF is still enzootic with periodical outbreaks. The Animal health srevices think of implementing an extension programme and a serological survey in order to assess the real impact of the disease. It is not possible for the moment to imagine an eradication project.

Countries with a small pig population where ASF is enzootic

In Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau¹, ASF is enzootic for many years but things look better as the pig populations are rather small :

Senegal : 191 000 pigs; Gambia : 60 to 65 000 pigs; Guinea-Bissau : more or less 26 000 pigs.

- on one side, the national governments should prepare the necessary prerequisites : rewriting of the sanitary legislation, implementation of a inter-ministry committee in charge of the control of epizootics, information campaigns for the breeders, training sessions for the technician, etc.

- on the other side, the private sector (breeder associations, NGOs, ...) should transform the traditional system from "the scavenging pig mode" to small family piggeries by giving to the small farmers access to micro-credits and by implementing extension projects.

The pig sector is divided into two groups and two regions : Casamance with more than half the pig population and, in a majority of cases, a family type breeding system (either in small piggeries or scavenging pigs) and Sine-Saloum, or the areas close to Dakar, where one can find most of the improved or semi-industrial farms (Table n-1).

Table n-1 : Distribution of the pig population in Senegal (from R. Coly et B. Faye : Rapport à l'atelier de Lomé)

Régions

Population in 1997

Casamance

Ziguinchor

Kolda

Siné-Saloum and areas close to Dakar

Fatick

Kaolack

Thiès

Rest of the country

43 470

61 730

54 310

11 750

17 230

2 510

22, 8

32, 3

----------

55,1

28,4

6,1

----------

43,5

1,4

The organisatiojn of the pig sector has started few years ago mainly through Prodec (Projet de développement des espèces à cycle court - Development project for short cycle animal species) and a pig breeder association has been created in the Ziguinchor area. The pig sector component of Prodec aims at improving the family type system as it is recommended for ASF eradication. Booklets for extension services have been published and could be used as models. Unfortunetaly, Prodec will cease at the end of year 1998. Moreover, in all the "Départements", with the support of the Direction of Animal Production, "Maisons des éleveurs" (Houses of breeders) were created which can be used for extension and access to credits.

ASF is well known in Senagal where it is enzootic in Casamance. The number of outbreaks reported is probably very low compared to reality. From times to times, ASF is seen in the areas, north of Gambia, as it was the case in Kaolack (in 1997) and in Popanguine (in 1998). These outbreaks are reported especially when they occur in improved farms.

Today, stamping-out is not compulsory in case of ASF and the veterinary services can only recommend to slaughter the pigs in infected farms. A revision of the regulation is under study.

The diagnostic capacity is very good and the central laboratory (Laboratoire national de l'élevage et de recherches vétérinaires - LNERV) has the facilities to perform all the diagnostic test including the most recent ones. A laboratory yechnician has been trained in INIA (Madrid) in the framework of the regional TCP.

The pig sector in Gambia is mainly of the back yard type with few semi-industrial farms in peri-urban areas. Nearly all the farmers are members of the Pig Breeder Association. An Irish NGO "Bochar", is implementing a project similar to Prodec in Senegal, and aiming at the improvment of the traditional system. This NGO could easily take over the extension and technical advising in case of a control project.

ASF is enzootic in Gambia especially along the border with Casamance. Control along the border is impossible, the "Diolas", a mostly christian population living on both sides. The outbreaks reported in July 1997 in Dasilami and in February 1998 in Kamboudie, occured in semi-industrial farms in the Western Province but the Veterinary services admit that the deaths in the traditional system are not reported. In Gambia too, the number of reported outbreaks is a very small part of the ASF cases.

The Veterinary services are not well equipped and lack human ressources to detect and follow up the outbreaks. The regulation should also be revised since slaughtering is compulsory only for rinderpest and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. Today, the laboratory cannot confirm the field cases. Equipment (fluorescence microscope) and reagents are lacking and the buildings should be rehabilitated.

As long as ASF eradication is concerned, there are a certain number of favourable factors in the sub-region :

- small size of the pig population involved,

- political will of the national governments,

- already existing projects for the development of the pig sector, even these projects are

short term projects limited to certains areas,

- and already existing professional associations which can take over.

II - 2 Epidemiological characteristics

According to the available informations, it is possible to precise some characteristics of the epidemiology of ASF in West Africa.

II-2-1 There are probably no wild reservoir nor vectors

In classical epidemiological scheme of ASF, wharthogs and oher wild suids are reservoir of virus as it has been described either in Southern and Eastern Africa or in the Iberic peninsula. The disease is transmitted within this wild population by two ticks, Ornithodoros moubata and O. erraticus.

The African tick, O. moubata, does not existin this part of the African continent and O. erraticus is not found south of Dakar.

This means that the wild suids should not be involved in the epidemiological cycle of ASF. However, it would be wiser to confirm such a theory by a serological survey on wild suids.

II-2-2 ASF enzootic cycle in West Africa

In the absence of a wild reservoir and of vectors, it is quite clear that ASF remains enzootic due only to traditional breeding system where pigs are left wandering around to find their food except during the rainy season in order to prevent damages to the cultures. There too, epidemiologtical studies would be necessary to assess the frequency of the contacts, the length of the excretion period, etc.

Appendix n-1 : Terms of reference

Under the direct supervision of the chief, TCOR, and the technical supervision of the Chief, Animal Health Service, FAO Headquarters, and in close collaboration with the Regional Project Coordinator, other Consultants, National Project Coordinators and counterparts, the incumbent will :

assess the priority infectious diseases of the countries in relation to their food security;

assess the risk factor in relation to the possibility of uncontrolled spread of the disease (ASF) outside the country(ies);

liaise with the local Veterinary Authorities regarding the preparation of epidemiological ASF maps;

prepare a concise consultancy report according to applied FAO standards and submit it for clearance in WPF 5.1 or Word 6.0 format (on diskette or as attachment by e-mail);

assist in the development of early warning and emergency preparedness capacity within each Project Country (during the second misssion);

Appendix n-2 : Agenda

11 Travel to Dakar : (waiting for the plane 7 hours at the airport - arrival in Dakar

Visit to the FAO Headquarters for travel modifications due to the riots in Guinéa-

Annexe n-3 : List of Persons

1 The political situation in Guinea-Bissau may represents a risk of diffusion of the disease since the refugees are taking their animals with them.

CONSULTANCY REPORT

African swine fever in West Africa
Togo - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea-Bissau

Table of Contents

Introduction

I - The Regional technical workshop on African swine fever

II - The situation of ASF in West Africa

II-1 Geographical distribution

Countries where ASF is epizootic

Countries that are free from the disease

Countries with a large pig population where ASF is enzootic

Countries with a small pig population where ASF is enzootic

II - 2 Epidemiological characteristics

II-2-1 There are probably no wild reservoir nor vectors

II-2-2 ASF enzootic cycle in West Africa

Appendix n-1 : Terms of reference

Appendix n-2 : Agenda

Annexe n-3 : List of Persons

CONSULTANCY REPORT

African swine fever in West Africa Togo - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea-Bissau

Table of Contents

Introduction

I - The Regional technical workshop on African swine fever

II - The situation of ASF in West Africa

II-1 Geographical distribution

Countries where ASF is epizootic

Countries that are free from the disease

Countries with a large pig population where ASF is enzootic

Countries with a small pig population where ASF is enzootic

II - 2 Epidemiological characteristics

II-2-1 There are probably no wild reservoir nor vectors

II-2-2 ASF enzootic cycle in West Africa

Appendix n-1 : Terms of reference

Appendix n-2 : Agenda

Annexe n-3 : List of Persons

African swine fever in West Africa
Togo - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea-Bissau