African Swine Fever (ASF), a severe severe haemorrhagic disease of pigs, has been reported in South Africa.
The department of agriculture said on Thursday that cases of the deadly disease had been reported in the country’s Northern Cape Province.
The outbreak presents a new blow to South Africa’s pork industry which has seen a downfall following a Listeria outbreak that killed more than 200 people and was traced to low-priced processed meat from a factory owned by Tiger Brands.
ASF, which is not transmitted to humans, can result in “a great number of the deaths of pigs in a short span of time” and is transmitted by contact with other infected pigs, ticks or from infected swill, the department said in a statement.
The unrelated Listeria outbreak, the biggest ever recorded, is expected to cause around 1 billion rand ($80 million) in losses to the pork value chain due to the changes in consumer perceptions of pork.
