Overview of the perceived risk of transboundary pig diseases in South Africa

Mokoele, Japhta M.; van Rensburg, Leana Janse; van Lochem, Shanie; Bodenstein, Heinz; du Plessis, Jacolette; Carrington, Chris A.P.; Spencer, B. Tom; Fasina, Folorunso O.

According to the statistics from the South African Pork Producers' Organisation, the South African commercial pig industry has a current population of 97 532 heads of sows and approximately 7000 boars, the majority of which are resident in the northern provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North-west. There are 46 registered pig abattoirs that slaughter approximately 2 million pigs per annum and a total of about 400 registered farmers. The industry also boasts a standing pig population of over 1.63 million and an annual production value of approximately R3 billion ($392 million). It is confirmed that zero risk is impossible, either in an extensive or intensive system of livestock management, and animal intensification is often associated with an increased risk of outbreaks of disease due to an increasing population within a limited land space (Cheneau, El Idrissi & Ward 2004; Fasina et al. 2012; Graham et al. 2008) . South Africa has a very-good-to-excellent border-control system but shares lengthy borders with six contiguous countries; therefore, the possibilities of illegal entry of pigs, pig products, inadvertent importation of genetic material, and movements of pets by immigrants remain, and these constitute another level of risk to the country (Penrith & Thomson 2012) .