Can a human be infected with the swine plague?

The African swine plague has reappeared in the Spanish state 31 years after the last case was detected. After the six cases detected during the week in the Collserola Mountains (Barcelona),on Sunday morning  another eight wild boars were found dead from this disease.

Although the disease is highly contagious, humans can rest assured, because pork plague is a non-zoonosic disease, that is, humans cannot be infectedeither by touching contaminated products or after eating them.

What is the African Swine Plague (PPA)?

The African swine plague is a viral hemorrhagic disease that mainly affects pigs and boars. Infected animals stop eating and have symptoms of fever that can lead to death.

What are the symptoms?

In general, infected animals havehigh fever , conjunctivitis cyanosis in the ears and end, vomiting or reddened skin, so there is no vaccine or treatment for this  disease, so the virus can cause the animal to die .

How can it be infected with animals?

It can be transmitted from an infected animal to a healthy animalthrough urine\u00A0, feces or ticks, as well as contact with contaminated objects.

The danger lies in the boar, which is a scavenger, so this animal can spread the disease very effectively and quickly.

Can a human be infected with the swine plague?

The Spanish Government's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has ensured thathumans  cannot be infected either by contact or by eating contaminated products.

So how does the disease affect man?

The biggest impact would bethe economic  . The Spanish state is the largest pig producerin theEuropean Union  and one of the countries that exports the most.

The disease could lead to the closureof borders in other countries when exporting any pork product from the state, and not just from affected areas.