Cristina Jurado Díaz defended her PhD Thesis entitled "New strategies for the control and eradication of African swine fever" on 5 November 2019, obtaining the highest qualification cum laude.

The SUAT group gives you the most sincere congratulations

New research article published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

 Open access article

Abstract:

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is spreading throughout Eurasia and there is no vaccine nor treatment available, so the control is based on the implementation of strict sanitary measures. These measures include depopulation of infected and in-contact animals and export restrictions, which can lead to important economic losses, making currently African swine fever (ASF) the greatest threat to the global swine industry. ASF has been endemic on the island of Sardinia since 1978, the longest persistence of anywhere in Eurasia. In Sardinia, eradication programs have failed, in large part due to the lack of farm professionalism, the high density of wild boar and the presence of non-registered domestic pigs (free-ranging pigs).

New research article published in Pathogens

Abstract:

Since September 2018, nearly 900 notifications of classical swine fever (CSF) have been reported in Gifu Prefecture (Japan) affecting domestic pig and wild boar by the end of August 2019. To determine the epidemiological characteristics of its spread, a spatio-temporal analysis was performed using actual field data on the current epidemic. The spatial study, based on standard deviational ellipses of official CSF notifications, showed that the disease likely spread to the northeast part of the prefecture. A maximum significant spatial association estimated between CSF notifications was 23 km by the multi-distance spatial cluster analysis. A space-time permutation analysis identified two significant clusters with an approximate radius of 12 and 20 km and 124 and 98 days of duration, respectively. When the area of the identified clusters was overlaid on a map of habitat quality, approximately 82% and 75% of CSF notifications, respectively, were found in areas with potential contact between pigs and wild boar. The obtained results provide information on the current CSF epidemic, which is mainly driven by wild boar cases with sporadic outbreaks on domestic pig farms. These findings will help implement control measures in Gifu Prefecture.

Open access article

Outreach article published in the magazine porciNews (porcino.info)

African Swine Fever (ASF), the greatest threat to the swine sector worldwide, has spread to more than 55 countries on three continents and is estimated to affect more than 77% of the world's swine population.
African Swine Fever is one of the viral diseases with the greatest impact on the pig sector, as viruelt strains of the virus can cause acute or even hyperacute haemorrhagic fever in animals, with mortality of up to 100%. Due to its devastating socio-economic consequences and its effects on animal health, ASF is classified as a Notifiable Disease to the OIE.

Link to the article