Canada Takes Proactive Measures Against African Swine Fever Amidst Vaccine Quality Concerns

Nov 06, 2023

In a preemptive move to safeguard its swine population, Canada is implementing a comprehensive framework to protect against the potential threat of African swine fever (ASF), despite the absence of reported cases in the country.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has introduced National Standards and a National Framework, providing guidance to the pork industry on proactive measures. This initiative aligns with the previously announced Canadian ASF Compartment Program, which establishes subpopulations of pigs within the larger pig community. The program includes the implementation of a unified biosecurity management system, incorporating regular surveillance and traceability protocols. The aim is to fortify hog production systems against the introduction of ASF, as outlined in a recent CFIA news release.

The CFIA emphasizes the necessity of establishing and operating these compartments before the detection of an ASF outbreak to effectively support the protection goals for pork and pork products. Developed and managed by the pork industry with CFIA approval and oversight, these compartments offer increased flexibility in the movement of live pigs and pork products, even within infected zones.

Simultaneously, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has issued a cautionary advisory regarding ASF vaccine quality. While nations anticipate the development of effective ASF vaccines, WOAH underscores the importance of using only high-quality vaccines. The use of non-compliant or subpar ASF vaccines poses the risk of spreading viruses, potentially resulting in acute or chronic diseases, according to the global animal health authority.

WOAH further emphasizes that vaccine programs should be integrated as part of a comprehensive prevention and control strategy rather than being employed as standalone interventions for disease control. This approach aligns with the broader goal of ensuring the efficacy and safety of ASF vaccines within a holistic framework of disease prevention and management.

Source : Swine Web

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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