Sanitary measures in piggeries, awareness, and risk factors of African swine fever in Benue State, Nigeria

The present study describes assessment of sanitary measures in piggeries of Benue State, Nigeria, to identify the risk factors of African swine fever. Questionnaires were distributed to 74 respondents consisting of piggery owners and attendants in different piggeries across 12 local government areas (LGAs) to collect data for this study. Sanitary measures in piggeries were observed to be generally very poor, though respondents admitted being aware of ASF. Piggeries located within 1-km radius of a slaughter slab (OR = 9.2, 95% CI 3.0–28.8; p < 0.0001) and piggeries near refuse dump sites (OR = 3.0, 95% CI 1.0–9.5; p < 0.05) showed higher chances of African swine fever virus (ASFV) infection, while piggeries where farm workers wear their work clothes outside of the piggery premises (OR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.7; p < 0.01) indicate less chances of infection but had a significantly associated p value thus were identified as potential risk factors. The study concluded that pigs in Benue State are still at risk of an ASF outbreak. Proper sanitary and hygienic practices are advocated and emphasized in piggeries, while routine surveillance for African swine fever virus antibodies in pigs in Benue State is strongly recommended to provide a reliable reference database to plan for the prevention of any devastating ASF outbreak.