‘They died in sevens’ - pig farmer, Groeneweide Park
The farmer who lost his entire herd of 47 pigs when an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) hit his pens two weeks ago on the outskirts of Groeneweide Park, is still trying to deal with the shock. "They died in sevens, and in the blink of an eye I had nothing left.
“This was my sole income," said Michael Noble, who estimates his loss between
R250 000 and R270 000.
Farmers farming close - between 10 and 50m - to Noble - escaped the ordeal. Their pigs are still roaming happily, with no signs of the illness. Meanwhile, two nearby farmers reached out to Noble with a donation of five pigs, to help him rebuild his stock. For any help or donations, contact Noble on 061 168 4617.
Department asks for biosecurity
On Sunday 18 February the Western Cape Department of Agriculture called on all pig owners to implement strict biosecurity to protect their livestock from ASF and to call their nearest state veterinary office should they have any concerns.
George Herald reported on the African swine fever outbreak in Noble's herd of pigs last week, and it was confirmed by laboratory tests on 7 February. Noble was struck a hard blow and had to deal with this setback. He had to burn the carcasses of his entire herd.
Not airborne
On a question why only Noble's herd was affected by ASF, and not the neighbouring pigs roaming in pens 10 to 50m from Noble's pen, state veterinarian Dr Leana Janse van Rensburg said this is possible with good biosecurity. "The disease is not 'airborne', but spreads through contact - directly with other pigs or indirectly through meat or contaminated clothing, shoes and equipment. In this particular case, we cannot yet determine whether it is spreading or not, since one has to wait at least for the incubation period of the disease (in this case 15 days) since the last pig showed symptoms (or died from the disease and was buried/ destroyed) to see for certain."
Janse van Rensburg said for African swine fever the tests are of such a nature that one has to take organ samples, which means that they do not usually test live pigs.
Fourth outbreak in Garden Route
According to Daniel Johnson, spokesperson for the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, this is the second outbreak in George, and the fourth outbreak in the Garden Route area since 2022. "Previously there had been outbreaks in KwaNonqaba and Mossel Bay in 2022 and 2023, which were both resolved; and an outbreak in Thembalethu in 2022 which remains a concern," said Johnson.
The ASF virus is specific to pigs and does not affect humans or other species of animals.