Govt gazettes African Swine Fever areas

Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
|Government has declared six areas in Mt Darwin African Swine Fever (ASF) areas, following an outbreak of the disease last year. The outbreak was controlled last year but ASF regulations require that all affected areas be gazetted for control purposes.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made made the announcement in a Statutory Instrument published in the latest Government Gazette.

“It is hereby notified that the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development has in terms of Section 5 of the Animal Heath Act made these regulations:

“These regulations may be cited as the Animal Health (African Swine Fever Control Area) Regulations 2016. The first schedule of the Animal Health (African Swine Fever Control area) Regulations, 1968 published in the Statutory Instrument 626 of 1968 was amended by the addition of Mukumbura Communal, Chiganyo Communal, Kamutsenzere Communal, Chiswiti Communal, Kaitano Communal and Pachanza Communal in Mt Darwin District,” the Gazette reads.

Last year, farmers in Mashonaland Central lost more than 600 pigs to ASF. The disease was firstly confined to free-ranging pigs. Government had to introduce control measures instituted by the Department of Veterinary Services to prevent further spread of the disease including a quarantine order or ban on movement of all pigs and pig products from Mt Darwin.

Farmers are advised to report any unusual high mortality rate, to arrest the deadly disease.

The Department of Veterinary Services also advised farmers to register all commercial pig units and have good bio-security measures in place to arrest the disease.

African Swine Fever is a fatal viral disease that affects pigs of all ages, transmitted by soft ticks from wild pigs which are the reservoirs of infection.

The disease can spread among domestic pigs through direct contact or through contaminated objects like vehicles and instruments. It is characterised by high morbidity and mortality of up to 100 percent.

There is no cure or vaccine for the disease.