Zambia contains African swine fever

Zambia has managed to contain the African swine fever which broke out over a month ago in Lusaka, the country's capital, killing more than 1, 682 pigs, a senior official told Xinhua on Wednesday. Dr. Linous Munsimbwe, Provincial Veterinary Officer for Lusaka Province under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestocks, said they have not received any report of new cases in the last three weeks, an indication that the disease has been contained. "We have not received any new infections in the last three weeks which for us is an indication that the measures put in place are working. We can safely say we have contained the disease," he said. The measures put in place include conducting surveillance of all pig farms, disinfecting farms affected by the disease, banning the movement of pigs within and outside the city, as well as halting the processing of all pig products. According to the official, about 9,000 pigs have so far been killed out of 12,000 pigs assumed to be infected with the disease and those that came into contact with the diseased animals. Lusaka has a pig population of 40,000. The official said the government has agreed on the need to compensate all farmers whose pigs have been killed and that some money has since been set aside for the program of compensation. He however could not reveal how much each farmer will be compensated, saying the minister of agriculture and livestock will soon make an official announcement. "On the actual compensation figure, the minister will make an announcement on how much and when to start. Government is ready to compensate the farmers," he added. The economic losses caused by the disease are enormous, the official said, adding that apart from farmers losing their animals, the banning of the movement of pigs as well as the halting of the processing of any pig products has economic implications. He assured that the government has put in place measures to ensure that it reacts quickly to any outbreaks of the disease in future. They include continuous surveillance system to serve as an early warning system, monitoring of the movement of pigs as well as registration of all pig farmers. This is the third time the African swine fever has been found in Zambia in recent years with the last outbreak recorded in 2004. The first outbreak was reported in 1994. the African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that could kill 95 to 100 percent of affected pigs.