African Swine Fever African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease of pigs, endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, with no vaccine or treatment available. The ASF virus has spread through Georgia (2007) into Russia, then Ukraine, Belarus, and other Eastern European countries, and as of 2015 reports of outbreaks continue, mainly in wild boar. The ASF virus can be transmitted directly between animals, indirectly via fomites, or by tick vectors. Lesions of classical swine fever are clinico-pathologically indistinguishable from African swine fever; it is essential to send samples for laboratory confirmation on suspected cases. Transmission of the virus is mainly thought to be by the oral or oronasal routes, although can also occur by other mucous membranes and skin abrasions. The CSF virus can persist in blood and tissues after death, and can be readily spread by feeding uncooked swill that contains tissue from infected pigs. There is no treatment for CSF; affected pigs must be slaughtered and carcasses buried or incinerated. Classical swine fever was once widespread, but has been eradicated from many countries from domestic swine, including the US. A national eradication program was started in the US in 1962 and resulted in eradication in the US by 1976. Reintroduction of CSF into the US would be devastating.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is one of the most important infectious diseases of cattle in Africa. CBPP is caused by
Mycoplasma mycoides mycoides small colony, and is highly contagious with losses up to 80% in naive herds possible, although mortality rates greater than 50% are uncommon. and are not thought to be important in the epidemiology of CBPP.
M. mycoides SC is transmitted animal to animal mainly in respiratory aerosols and inhaling droplets disseminated by coughing, CEM is highly contagious, and is transmitted primarily during natural breeding. Transmission can also occur from infected fomites such as contaminated instruments and equipment, and via artificial insemination. Infected stallions show no signs, and almost every mare mated with an infected stallion will become infected. Infected mares can present as an acute form with a copious vaginal discharge 10–14 days after breeding, a chronic form which has a milder uterine inflammation and less obvious discharge, or as a carrier with no obvious symptoms but still infectious to other stallions or mares. CEM occurs rarely in the United States but if the disease were to become widespread in the U.S., it could cause considerable economic loss in the horse industry. Transmission of dourine is almost exclusively during breeding, more commonly from stallions to mares, but can also occur from mares to stallions. The mortality rate is believed to be higher than 50%, and some feel that nearly all cases are eventually fatal.
Foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hooved animals, such as cattle, sheep, and swine. FMD was once worldwide but has been largely controlled in developed nations, and has been eradicated from some regions such as North America and western Europe. The disease was eradicated from the United States in 1929. FMD is endemic in parts of Asia, and most of Africa and the Middle East, but FMD can occur sporadically in typically free areas. The organism causing FMS is an aphthovirus in the family
Picornaviridae. There is also concern that the FMD virus could be utilized by a terrorist organization or rogue state to perpetuate a terrorist attack against the United States by targeting the $100 billion/year U.S. livestock industry. In 2001, from February to September, an outbreak of FMD in the United Kingdom caused the slaughter of over 4 million animals of sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs to gain control of the disease. Prompt reporting of suspicious signs of FMD to the proper agents (state veterinarians, federal animal disease control officials, or county agricultural agents will enable an investigation, testing, and containment should an outbreak occur. is a highly infectious zoonotic disease of equines caused by the bacterium
Burkholderia mallei. It can also be contracted by goats, dogs, and cats. Glanders is one of the oldest diseases known and was once worldwide, but has been eradicated from most countries by mid-1900s. Clinical cases are often a combination of forms, and may be acute or subacute, chronic, or latent, although horses usually develop chronic glanders which is eventually fatal in most animals. Diagnosis of glanders in animals is performed at an appropriate biosafety and containment level laboratory by isolating the organism from blood, sputum, urine, or skin lesions, or by serological testing.
Rinderpest Rinderpest is an extinct relative of the
measles virus, that infected even-toed ungulates including domestic cattle, deer and giraffes.
Teschen disease Teschen disease is a form of
encephalomyelitis found in pigs and caused by
Teschovirus A.
Screwworms Cochliomyia hominivorax, the primary screwworm, is a parasite that lays its eggs in the living tissue of mammals, including humans, targeting existing wounds, including the navels of newborns. It has been officially eradicated from the United States, but occasional outbreaks do occur. The USDA maintains a screwworm containment program in Panama that deposits 14.7 million sterile flies along the Colombian border every week. ==References==