Category Archives: Foreign Animal Disease

Evidence suggests African swine fever virus (ASFV) may survive under conditions similar to those observed in transoceanic transport models. In a Swine Health Information Center (SHIC)-funded study, researchers developed a quantitative risk assessment model to estimate the probability that one or more corn or soybean meal ocean vessels contaminated with ASFV would be imported into the US annually. Ultimately, this model can be used to evaluate risk mitigation strategies and critical control points for inactivating ASFV during feed ingredient processing, storage, and transport, and contribute to the design and implementation of biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of ASFV into the US and other ASFV-free countries. Study authors are Rachel A. Schambow, Fernando Sampedro, Pedro E. Urriola, Jennifer L. G. van de Ligt, Andres Perez, and Gerald C. Shurson.

African swine fever (ASF) has been spreading quickly in the past ten years in several parts of the world, including Asia, Eastern Europe, and more recently in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This disease causes high mortality in affected pigs, and vaccines do not effectively protect against it. For all these reasons, it is considered one of the main threats to U.S. swine production. [Source: National Hog Farmer 12 October 2021]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) today announced that one of its African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) vaccine candidates has been shown to prevent and effectively protect both European and Asian bred swine against the current circulating Asian strain of the virus. [Source: USDA ARS 30 September 2021]

USDA hosted African Swine Fever (ASF) Action Week September 13-17. Our goal in hosting Action Week was to bring attention to the importance of ASF planning and prevention and highlight the extensive work being done by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as well as our state partners and industry to keep the disease out of the United States. We hope the webinars and other resources we shared over the course of last week provided practical information to help you better protect the health of your herd. [Source: USDA 20 September 2021]

On September 20, the Chief Veterinary Officer in Haiti reported a positive case of African swine fever (ASF) to the World Organisation for Animal Health. The sample was collected from a pig in a province bordering the Dominican Republic and was tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories through a cooperative testing program. [Source: USDA 21 September 2021]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Federal Order suspending the interstate movement of all live swine, swine germplasm, swine products, and swine byproducts from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland United States until APHIS can establish sufficient mitigations to authorize such movement. This Federal Order, effective today, is the final action in a series of safeguards needed to establish an African Swine Fever (ASF) protection zone in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [Source: USDA 17 September 2021]

Last week, the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) offered a reminder for continued reporting of traveler experiences while going through customs entering the US. That morning, a report of international travelers not being diverted to Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists for secondary screening after they indicated on their Customs form that they had had animal contact at their African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) endemic destination was shared. After getting this report, a Customs and Border Protection contact immediately responded saying, “…flights from that area of the world should be a tactical focus and there will be follow up with the agents at that airport.”

With African swine fever (ASF) entrenched in China and Southeast Asia, marching westward through Europe and now just 750 miles from Florida, the U.S. pork industry’s decision three years ago to pull out all the stops to prevent the introduction and spread of the pig-only disease into the U.S. seems prescient. [Source: Farm Journal’s Pork 2 September 2021, by Liz Wagstrom]

U.S. producers have seen the devastating impact of African swine fever (ASF) in other countries. The ultimate goal is to keep it out of this country, so industry groups are ramping up preparedness and prevention protocols. [Source: Farm Journal’s Pork 1 September 2021, by Joan Alumbaugh]

The COVID-19 pandemic practically halted air travel for a time. Because international air travel is now resuming, a reminder for continued reporting of traveler experiences while going through customs entering the US is timely. Plus, there have been recent anecdotal reports that some veterinarians are not being diverted to customs agriculture specialists for secondary screening after reporting they have been on farms in other countries.