Husbandry practices and trade networks between subsistence pig farmers:
A potential risk for African swine fever transmission in Northern Kwa
Zulu Natal, South Africa.
Abstract
Animal husbandry practices and livestock movements are some of the main
factors that increase the risk of disease introduction and spread. This
knowledge is particularly relevant in transboundary areas to anticipate
and prevent the introduction of transboundary animal diseases. In South
Africa, the management of some notifiable livestock diseases is based on
the establishment of disease control zones in line with the
recommendations of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). Movement
between these zones is controlled by local, provincial, and national
veterinary authorities. Because disease occurrence and spread is a
dynamic process, it is important to ensure that infected livestock are
not exported from areas delineated as disease protection or control
zones. In this study, 254 pig farmers were interviewed to gather
information on the local socio-economic importance of pig farming, the
pig husbandry methods employed and the movement of pigs within and
outside the African swine fever (ASF) control zone from Northern Kwa
Zulu Natal. In addition, blood samples taken from 174 domestic pig of
those farms were tested for ASF antibodies. Social network analysis of
data collected showed an extensive trade network without the involvement
of intermediaries and sporadic exchanges with neighbouring communities,
including some located in Mozambique and Eswatini. The maximum distance
travelled for selling pigs was 495 km. Husbandry methods (free ranging
pigs, throwing away carcass offal and slaughtering remains at
homesteads) implemented by the farmers, predominantly single women,
increased the risks of disease introduction and transmission.
Considering the importance of subsistence pig farming in the study area,
especially to women, and despite the absence of ASF antibodies in
sampled pigs, it is highly relevant to educate the community and raise
awareness on the risk implications of uncontrolled trade in pigs and
poor husbandry practices in transboundary disease introduction and
transmission.