African swine fever
African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs. It is often fatal for infected pigs. There is no vaccination or cure for the disease.
ASF does not affect humans.
There is a risk of ASF being introduced to Australia in imported pig products. The disease can survive freezing and processing of pork.
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Global detections of ASF
Australia is free of ASF.
The disease has spread into South East Asia including China, Vietnam and South Korea, and mostly recently Indonesia (including Bali), Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. The disease is also present in parts of Africa and Europe.
For more information visit the Animal Health Australia website.
How ASF spreads
African swine fever spreads through:
- contact with infected pigs
- contaminated vehicles, equipment and clothing
- contaminated pork products being fed to pigs.
How you can reduce disease spread
There are several measures you can take to reduce the spread:
- don't feed meat or meat products to your pigs, or any food that has come into contact with meat or meat products. This is called prohibited pig feed (or swill feeding) and is illegal in Australia
- don't pack pork or pork products when travelling to Australia
- keep up good on-farm biosecurity practises
- if shopping online, make sure that any food products containing pork meet the import conditions (some products require a permit).
Symptoms of ASF in pigs
Key signs of African swine fever include:
- death (possibly before other signs are noticeable)
- blotching/reddening of the skin
- high fever
- lack of coordination or stiff gait
- difficulty breathing
- dysentery or diarrhoea
- vomiting.
Humans cannot catch ASF.
Register your pigs
All properties with pigs (including pet pigs) require:
- a property identification code (PIC) and
- an associated pig brand.
If you move pigs, you must use the national tracking system, PigPass.
We use identification to manage and trace pigs in the event of a disease outbreak.
Hunting feral pigs
If you are a hunter or shooter, you can help reduce the risk posed by African swine fever by:
- reporting feral pigs to your local Natural Resources Management Board
- humanely destroying feral pigs on your land. Feral pigs are serious pests and declared for destruction by landholders, under the Natural Resources Management Act
- ensuring all vehicles, clothing and equipment are washed and disinfected after hunting trips
- not leaving food scraps containing meat in the bush after hunting or camping trips
- not keeping, selling, releasing or moving feral pigs
- reporting sick or dead feral pigs to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline.
More information
- Feeding pigs fact sheet ()
- Information for travellers
- Hunters and shooters information
- African swine fever symptoms – English ()
- Don’t pack pork poster – English ()
- Don’t pack pork poster – Chinese ()
- Don't pack pork poster – Vietnamese ()
- Dispose of food waste responsibly flyer – English ()
- Dispose of food waste responsibly flyer – Chinese ()
- Dispose of food waste responsibly flyer – Vietnamese ()