Brazil records a case of classical swine fever in Ceará state

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) of a case of classical swine fever in the country, which had not occurred since November 2019.

The disease was diagnosed on September 14 in an animal from a “backyard” production in Ceará. The examination was done by the Federal Agricultural Defense Laboratory of Minas Gerais.

In the statement to the OIE, the Brazilian government stressed that Ceará is not part of the classical swine fever-free zone in Brazil and that there are restrictions on the movement of animals and products between the state and areas considered free of the disease.

“Investigations are still ongoing to identify the origin and epidemiological links. Eradication measures will be implemented with the slaughter of existing animals on the property and contacts within the same epidemiological unit,” the government told OIE.

Classical swine fever is different from the African variant, a disease that reappeared in the Americas in the middle of this year, in cases identified in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. So far, there are no records of this disease in other countries on the continent.

Considered more severe than the classical variant, African swine fever has no cure. The disease was responsible for decimating nearly half of China’s pig herd between 2018 and 2019.