Risk Factors for African Swine Fever in Smallholder Pig Production Systems in Uganda.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Epidemiology
• Animal Health Economics
• Agricultural Management

Background:

• Smallholder pig production in Uganda faces significant challenges from poor management and disease, notably African Swine Fever (ASF).
• Limited data exists on disease dynamics and risk factors within the pig value chain, hindering effective intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze risk factors associated with African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in Ugandan pig farming communities.
• To provide evidence-based insights for developing targeted disease mitigation interventions along the pig value chain.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1195 pig-keeping households across three districts in Uganda from April to July 2013.
• Households were categorized into rural-rural (R-R), rural-urban (R-U), and urban-urban (U-U) value chain domains (VCDs).
• Data on farming practices, biosecurity measures, and disease occurrence were collected and analyzed to determine risk and protective factors.

Main Results:

• Factors positively correlated with ASF outbreaks included prompt disposal of dead pigs, presence of wild animals, and sourcing drugs from stockists.
• Protective factors identified were perimeter fencing, higher farmer education levels (secondary school and above), routine pen cleaning, and pigs being the sole livestock.
• Panic selling of pigs during outbreaks was observed in nearly 20% of affected farms.

Conclusions:

• Urgent need to enhance farmer and value chain actor awareness regarding biosecurity measures to control African Swine Fever (ASF).
• Incentivizing farmers to report ASF cases is essential for timely intervention and disease management.
• Addressing identified risk factors and promoting protective practices can significantly reduce ASF incidence in smallholder pig production systems.