scholarly journals Managing African Swine Fever: Assessing the Potential of Camera Traps in Monitoring Wild Boar Occupancy Trends in Infected and Non-infected Zones, Using Spatio-Temporal Statistical Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Bollen ◽  
Thomas Neyens ◽  
Maxime Fajgenblat ◽  
Valérie De Waele ◽  
Alain Licoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Infection Status ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Extensive Body

The recent spreading of African swine fever (ASF) over the Eurasian continent has been acknowledged as a serious economic threat for the pork industry. Consequently, an extensive body of research focuses on the epidemiology and control of ASF. Nevertheless, little information is available on the combined effect of ASF and ASF-related control measures on wild boar (Sus scrofa) population abundances. This is crucial information given the role of the remaining wild boar that act as an important reservoir of the disease. Given the high potential of camera traps as a non-invasive method for ungulate trend estimation, we assess the effectiveness of ASF control measures using a camera trap network. In this study, we focus on a major ASF outbreak in 2018–2020 in the South of Belgium. This outbreak elicited a strong management response, both in terms of fencing off a large infected zone as well as an intensive culling regime. We apply a Bayesian multi-season site-occupancy model to wild boar detection/non-detection data. Our results show that (1) occupancy rates at the onset of our monitoring period reflect the ASF infection status; (2) ASF-induced mortality and culling efforts jointly lead to decreased occupancy over time; and (3) the estimated mean total extinction rate ranges between 22.44 and 91.35%, depending on the ASF infection status. Together, these results confirm the effectiveness of ASF control measures implemented in Wallonia (Belgium), which has regained its disease-free status in December 2020, as well as the usefulness of a camera trap network to monitor these effects.

scholarly journals Managing African Swine Fever: Assessing the Potential of Camera Traps in Monitoring Wild Boar Occupancy Trends in Infected and Noninfected Zones, Using Spatio-temporal Statistical Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Bollen ◽  
Thomas Neyens ◽  
Maxime Fajgenblat ◽  
Val&eacuterie De Waele ◽  
Alain Licoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Infection Status ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Extensive Body

The recent spreading of African swine fever (ASF) over the Eurasian continent has been acknowledged as a serious economic threat for the pork industry. Consequently, an extensive body of research focuses on the epidemiology and control of ASF. Nevertheless, little information is available on the combined effect of ASF and ASF-related control measures on wild boar (Sus scrofa) population abundances. This is crucial information given the role of the remaining wild boar that act as an important reservoir of the disease. Given the high potential of camera traps as a non-invasive method for ungulate trend estimation, we assess the effectiveness of ASF control measures using a camera trap network. In this study, we focus on a major ASF outbreak in 2018-2020 in the South of Belgium. This outbreak elicited a strong management response, both in terms of fencing off a large infected zone as well as an intensive culling regime. We apply a Bayesian multi-season site-occupancy model to wild boar detection-nondetection data. Our results show that (1) occupancy rates at the onset of our monitoring period reflect the ASF infection status; (2) ASF-induced mortality and culling efforts jointly lead to decreased occupancy over time; and (3) the estimated mean total extinction rate ranges between 22.44% and 91.35%, depending on the ASF infection status. Together, these results confirm the effectiveness of ASF-control measures implemented in Wallonia (Belgium), which has regained its disease-free status in December 2020, as well as the usefulness of a camera trap network to monitor these effects.

scholarly journals Role of Wild Boar in the Spread of Classical Swine Fever in Japan

Pathogens ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ito ◽  
Jurado ◽  
Bosch ◽  
Ito ◽  
Sánchez-Vizcaíno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Classical Swine Fever ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Domestic Pig ◽  
Potential Contact ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
Gifu Prefecture

Since September 2018, nearly 900 notifications of classical swine fever (CSF) have been reported in Gifu Prefecture (Japan) affecting domestic pig and wild boar by the end of August 2019. To determine the epidemiological characteristics of its spread, a spatio-temporal analysis was performed using actual field data on the current epidemic. The spatial study, based on standard deviational ellipses of official CSF notifications, showed that the disease likely spread to the northeast part of the prefecture. A maximum significant spatial association estimated between CSF notifications was 23 km by the multi-distance spatial cluster analysis. A space-time permutation analysis identified two significant clusters with an approximate radius of 12 and 20 km and 124 and 98 days of duration, respectively. When the area of the identified clusters was overlaid on a map of habitat quality, approximately 82% and 75% of CSF notifications, respectively, were found in areas with potential contact between pigs and wild boar. The obtained results provide information on the current CSF epidemic, which is mainly driven by wild boar cases with sporadic outbreaks on domestic pig farms. These findings will help implement control measures in Gifu Prefecture.

scholarly journals African Swine Fever spread across Asia, 2018---2019

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ward ◽  
Ellen Mighell
Keyword(s):  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
The South ◽  
Start Date ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Spatio Temporal

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious pathogen causing disease in pigs, commonly characterised by acute haemorrhagic fever. Prior to August 2018, African Swine Fever (ASF) had not been reported in Asia, but has since spread throughout China, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Using data collated from reports of confirmed cases, we applied spatio-temporal analysis to describe ASFV spread throughout Asia, from 1 August 2018 (reported start date) to 31 December 2019. Analysis revealed a propagating epidemic of ASFV throughout Asia, with peaks corresponding to increased reports from China, Vietnam and Laos. Two clusters of reported outbreaks were found. During the epidemic, ASFV primarily spread from the North-East to the South-East: a larger, secondary cluster in the North-East represented earlier reports, whilst the smaller, primary cluster in the South-East was characterised by later reports. Significant differences in country-specific epidemics, morbidity, mortality and unit types were discovered, likely attributable to differences in prevention, surveillance and control measures. The initial number of outbreaks and enterprise size are likely predictors of the speed of spread and the effectiveness of ASFV stamping out procedures. Biosecurity methods, wild boar populations and the transportation of pigs and movement of infected fomites are discussed as likely risk factors for facilitating ASFV spread across Asia.

scholarly journals R0 Estimation for the African Swine Fever Epidemics in Wild Boar of Czech Republic and Belgium

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Marcon ◽  
Annick Linden ◽  
Petr Satran ◽  
Vincenzo Gervasi ◽  
Alain Licoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Wild Boar ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Passive Surveillance ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Wild Pigs ◽  
Eradication Strategy ◽  
Growth Method

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious haemorrhagic fever that affects both domesticated and wild pigs. Since ASF reached Europe wild boar populations have been a reservoir for the virus. Collecting reliable data on infected individuals in wild populations is challenging, and this makes it difficult to deploy an effective eradication strategy. However, for diseases with high lethality rate, infected carcasses can be used as a proxy for the number of infected individuals at a certain time. Then R0 parameter can be used to estimate the time distribution of the number of newly infected individuals for the outbreak. We estimated R0 for two ASF outbreaks in wild boar, in Czech Republic and Belgium, using the exponential growth method. This allowed us to estimate both R0 and the doubling time (Td) for those infections. The results are R0 = 1.95, Td = 4.39 for Czech Republic and R0 = 1.65, Td = 6.43 for Belgium. We suggest that, if estimated as early as possible, R0 and Td can provide an expected course for the infection against which to compare the actual data collected in the field. This would help to assess if passive surveillance is properly implemented and hence to verify the efficacy of the applied control measures.

scholarly journals Predicting spread and effective control measures for African swine fever– should we blame the boars?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Taylor ◽  
Tomasz Podgórski ◽  
Robin R. L. Simons ◽  
Sophie Ip ◽  
Paul Gale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Wild Boar ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Baltic Countries

SummaryAfrican swine fever (ASF) has been causing multiple outbreaks in Russia, Poland and the Baltic countries in recent years and is currently spreading westwards throughout Europe and eastwards into China, with cases occurring in wild boar and domestic pigs. Curtailing further spread of ASF requires full understanding of the transmission pathways of the disease. Wild boars have been implicated as a potential reservoir for the disease and one of the main modes of transmission within Europe. We developed a spatially explicit model to estimate the risk of infection with ASF in boar and pigs due to the natural movement of wild boar that is applicable across the whole of Europe. We demonstrate the model by using it to predict the probability that early cases of ASF in Poland were caused by wild boar dispersion. The risk of infection in 2015 is computed due to wild boar cases in Poland in 2014, compared against the reported cases in 2015 and then the procedure is repeated for 2015-2016. We find that long- and medium-distance spread of ASF (i.e. >30km) is very unlikely to have occurred due to boar dispersal, due in part to the generally short distances boar will travel (<20km on average). We also predict what the relative success of different control strategies would have been in 2015, if they were implemented in 2014. Results suggest that hunting of boar reduces the number of new cases, but a larger region is at risk of ASF compared to no control measure. Alternatively, introducing boar-proof fencing reduces the size of the region at risk in 2015, but not the total number of cases. Overall, our model suggests wild boar movement is only responsible for local transmission of disease, thus other pathways are more dominant in medium and long distance spread of the disease.

scholarly journals A Review of Environmental Risk Factors for African Swine Fever in European Wild Boar

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2692
Author(s):  
Hannes Bergmann ◽  
Katja Schulz ◽  
Franz J. Conraths ◽  
Carola Sauter-Louis
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Wild Boar ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Environmental Risk Factors ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Reference Scenario ◽  
Disease Occurrence ◽  
Forest Coverage

A detailed understanding of environmental risk factors for African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar will be not only essential for risk assessments but also for timely and spatially informed allocation of resources in order to manage wild boar-targeted ASF control measures efficiently. Here, we review currently known environmental risk factors that can influence the occurrence of ASF virus infection in wild boar when compared to disease occurrence in wild boar of a non-exposed reference scenario. Accordingly, the exposure of wild boar to environmental risk factors related to (1) climate, (2) land cover, (3) human activity, (4) wild boar and (5) ASF were evaluated. As key environmental risk factors in this review, increased ASF occurrence in wild boar was associated with seasonal patterns, forest coverage, presence of water, human presence, farming activities, wild boar density and ASF nearness. The review highlights inconsistencies in some of these risk factor associations with disease detection in space and time and may provide valuable insights for the investigation of ASF transmission dynamics. The examined risk information was applied to consider potential improvements of the ASF control strategy in wild boar regarding disease surveillance, hunting, wild boar carcass searches and ASF barrier implementation.

scholarly journals The African Swine Fever Epidemic in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in Lithuania (2014–2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petras Mačiulskis ◽  
Marius Masiulis ◽  
Gediminas Pridotkas ◽  
Jūratė Buitkuvienė ◽  
Vaclovas Jurgelevičius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Wild Boar Population ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
First Case ◽  
The Baltic

In January 2014 the first case of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar of the Baltic States was reported from Lithuania. It has been the first occurrence of the disease in Eastern EU member states. Since then, the disease spread further affecting not only the Baltic States and Poland but also south-eastern Europe, the Czech Republic and Belgium. The spreading pattern of ASF with its long-distance spread of several hundreds of kilometers on the one hand and the endemic situation in wild boar on the other is far from being understood. By analyzing data of ASF cases in wild boar along with implemented control measures in Lithuania from 2014–2018 this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the disease. In brief, despite huge efforts to eradicate ASF, the disease is now endemic in the Lithuanian wild boar population. About 86% of Lithuanian’s territory is affected and over 3225 ASF cases in wild boar have been notified since 2014. The ASF epidemic led to a considerable decline in wild boar hunting bags. Intensified hunting might have reduced the wild boar population but this effect cannot be differentiated from the population decline caused by the disease itself. However, for ASF detection sampling of wild boar found dead supported by financial incentives turned out to be one of the most effective tools.

scholarly journals What Do Lithuanian Hunters Think of African Swine Fever and Its Control—Perceptions

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 525
Author(s):  
Evelina Stončiūtė ◽  
Katja Schulz ◽  
Alvydas Malakauskas ◽  
Franz J. Conraths ◽  
Marius Masiulis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Passive Surveillance ◽  
Wild Boar Population ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Governmental Institutions

After the introduction of African swine fever (ASF) into Lithuania in 2014, continuous spread of the disease resulted in infection of the wild boar populations in most parts of Lithuania. The virus has been moving closer to other Western European countries where pig density is high. An efficient surveillance system detecting ASF cases early in domestic and wild animals is necessary to manage this disease. To make surveillance appropriate and effective, it is critical to understand how key players perceive the implemented control measures. This study investigated the attitudes and beliefs of hunters in Lithuania regarding currently implemented or proposed measures for the control of ASF in the wild boar population. Study data were collected through questionnaires distributed via the internet and by hunting associations in Lithuania. In total, 621 fully completed questionnaires were received and analyzed. All measures interfering with extensive hunting, like ban of driven or individual hunting or ban of supplementary feeding were considered as unacceptable and as ineffective measures to control ASF in wild boar. However, selective hunting of female wild boar was generally considered as an unethical act and therefore rejected. Some measures that seem to have been successful in other countries, like involvement of additional forces, were rejected by Lithuanian hunters, thus implementation of these measures could be difficult. The study highlighted that there is a need for improving important relationships with other stakeholders, since many hunters expressed a lack of trust in governmental institutions and regarded cooperation with them as insufficient. Hunters emphasized that their motivation to support passive surveillance measures could be improved with financial compensation and reduction of workload. The present study provides insights into hunters’ perceptions, which may be used as a foundation for additional discussions with these important stakeholders and for adapting measures to improve their acceptance if appropriate.

scholarly journals EPIZOOTIOLOGICAL SITUATION OF АFRICAN SWINE FEVER IN EUROPE

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Vesna Milićević ◽  
Vladimir Radosavljević ◽  
Ljubiša Veljović ◽  
Jelena Maksimović-Zorić ◽  
Sonja Radojičić
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Viral Entry ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Domestic Pigs ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Control

African swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease of domestic pigs and wild boar. Due to the very serious socioeconomic consequences, the disease isone of the most important ones nowadays. African swine fever is an enzootic disease in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Sardinia, and TransCaucasus countries. Aft er its occurrence in Georgia in 2007, ASF spread to Armenia and Russian Federation, and in 2008. to Azerbaijan. Since then,its progressive moving toward the west has been recorded. Despite the number of undertaken preventive and control measures in the EuropeanUnion (EU), ASF has been still spreading. During 2017, the disease has been reported in domestic pigs in Estonia, Italy-Sardinia, Latvia, Lithuania,Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. ASF cases in domestic pigs have also been reported in Moldova in 2017. Th e number of diagnosed cases in wild boarin 2017 is much higher than in domestic pigs. ASF outbreak in wild boar in the Czech Republic well describes the possible viral „jump“ into a newregion. Th e source of infection hasn’t been confi rmed yet, but it is common that such leaps are due to either swill feeding or improperly disposal of food rather than to the animal movements. Since the lack of eff ective vaccine makes eradication even more diffi cult, the prevention of viral entry into the new areas is of the most importance. With the same aim, since 2011. the surveillance of ASF has been implemented in Serbia.

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