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Februar y/March 202 2 XII MAGAZINE WORK IS BEING DONE TO CONTAIN IT THANKS TO TARGETED ACTIONS AND MINISTERIAL PROVISIONS. THE VIRUS DOES NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS FOR HUMANS, BUT IF IT SPREADS, IT COULD DAMAGE THE EXPORT OF PORK PROD- UCTS. THIS IS WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL TO FOLLOW THE HEALTH REGULATIONS IN FORCE AND TO RELY ON THE CERTIFIED SUPPLY CHAIN. by Maddalena Baldini The swine fever virus is on the agenda, an issue that worries the entire pig farming sector and, as a result, the spotlight is also on the consequences it could have for the supply chain. There is also discussion about how the virus reached Piedmont and Liguria, the two regions that have so seen the first cases, along with Sardinia, even if, as has now been ascertained, the strain of the virus isolated in Sardinia (for years) is different from the one that arrived in the north- west of the peninsula a short time ago. The concern is obvious but, before giving rise to early alarmism, it is good to get to the heart of the matter. Maurizio Gallo, director of the National Association of Swine Breeders (ANAS), did just that. SWINE FEVER IS TRIGGERING A NUMBER OF FEARS SUCH AS HUMAN AND ECONOMIC HEALTH. WHAT ARE THE REAL RISKS? It should be pointed out straight away that ASF affects domestic pigs and wild boar, so there is no risk to humans. On the other hand, any spread of ASF to farms must be kept under control and monitored. If this were to happen, it is clear that the entire pig sector would be affected, from the farms themselves to the meat processing industry. In order to prevent this, the safety measures laid down by the Ministry of Health must be applied and followed, including those relating to biosecurity on domestic farms. Furthermore, in order to reassure the market, it is essential that the Ministry is able to demonstrate the effectiveness of what it has put in place to preserve and reopen export channels. IS IT POSSIBLE TO CALCULATE THE DAMAGE? ARE THERE ANY ESTIMATES? Fortunately, the area currently affected by ASF has a low density of commercial farms. In any case, the Ministry of Health has ordered the prompt slaughter of pigs and the interruption of breeding activities. These measures are causing damage to farms, which will have to be compensated for thanks to the resources provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies. The impact on farms in the unaffected areas of the Piedmont region is also worrying: some slaughtering and meat processing industries have stopped taking delivery of pigs in Piedmont as a precautionary measure, the second region after Lombardy for the number of pigs bred there. This is a consequence of the health rules governing international trade. As far as the EU market is concerned, the ‘principle of regionalisation’ applies: once the restricted area has been identified and circumscribed, there are no restrictions on pig meat from the rest of the country. On the other hand, In non-EU countries a distinction must be made between those that recognise the principle of regionalisation and those that do not. WHAT ARE THE PRECAUTIONS THAT A FARM MUST TAKE? Since 2020, the Ministry of Health has launched a surveillance and prevention plan that sets out the measures to be taken on farms, such as cleaning and disinfection of transport vehicles, a specific loading area, and transport staff must not enter the sheds and must be appropriately dressed. In addition, attention must be paid to the health status of the farm of origin of the animals, quarantine for introduced pigs and unloading feed without access to the clean area of the farm, just to mention the most notable ones. ARE THERE SIGNS THAT ‘ANNOUNCE’ SWINE FEVER? As far as symptoms are concerned, close attention must be paid to sudden deaths, the appearance of febrile states and haemorrhagic skin spots. Breeders, assisted by their veterinarians, know that they must submit suspected cases to the Zooprophylactic Institutes for examination. This behaviour is also linked to those that individual citizens must adopt (published on the ministerial portal) to avoid being involuntary virus spreaders. ______________________________ BOX CIC AND THE SAFE AND CERTIFIED SUPPLY CHAIN Safety in every confection «The work on the swine fever front is quite complex, we need to act quickly and effectively so that it can be limited before June, the breeding season for