Abstract:
The spectacular recent spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe and Asia has
been strongly associated, as it is in the endemic areas in Africa, with free-ranging pig populations
and low-biosecurity backyard pig farming. Managing the disease in wild boar populations and
in circumstances where the disease in domestic pigs is largely driven by poverty is particularly
challenging and may remain so even in the presence of effective vaccines. The only option currently
available to prevent ASF is strict biosecurity. Among small-scale pig farmers biosecurity measures
are often considered unaffordable or impossible to implement. However, as outbreaks of ASF are also
unaffordable, the adoption of basic biosecurity measures is imperative to achieve control and prevent
losses. Biosecurity measures can be adapted to fit smallholder contexts, culture and costs. A longerterm approach that could prove valuable particularly for free-ranging pig populations would be
exploitation of innate resistance to the virus, which is fully effective in wild African suids and has
been observed in some domestic pig populations in areas of prolonged endemicity. We explore
available options for preventing ASF in terms of feasibility, practicality and affordability among
domestic pig populations that are at greatest risk of exposure to ASF.
