WASHINGTON, D.C. – With African swine fever (ASF) diagnosed in the western hemisphere for the first time in decades, animal health officials are asking U.S. pork producers to be extra vigilant to help keep the disease out of the country.

Late last month, the USDA announced ASF was found in samples collected from pigs in the Dominican Republic. “USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has numerous interlocking safeguards in place to prevent ASF from entering the United States,” the agency said July 28. “Pork and pork products from the Dominican Republic are currently prohibited entry as a result of existing classical swine fever restrictions.”

Additionally, USDA said the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is increasing inspections of flights from the Dominican Republic to ensure travelers do not bring prohibited products into the United States.

ASF is a viral disease characterized by high mortality and morbidity in swine, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH). The disease is not a threat to human health or food safety. ASF was discovered in Kenya in the early 1900s and later spread to Asia and parts of Europe. It was found in China in 2018. It has never been diagnosed in the United States.

The last time ASF was found this close to the United States was in the early 1980s, said Dr. Kelli Werling, swine health programs director for BOAH.

“(The discovery) does increase our concern as it hasn’t been this close to home in over 40 years,” she noted. “One of the best things producers can do is follow enhanced biosecurity practices on their farms. They need to continue to take some preventive measures to protect their pigs. I think we can set ourselves up for success if we all do our part. We have to remain vigilant and not become complacent.”

Dr. Paul Sundberg, executive director of the Swine Health Information Center, called the Dominican Republic diagnosis “uncomfortably close,” but said USDA, CBP and the pork industry have been working to keep it out of the United States.

“Producers, whether large or small or in between, should be paying attention to biosecurity issues, which means keeping diseases away from your pigs,” he said. “The pork industry has a long history of biosecurity practices that continue to get better. You never get done with that. Producers are the last brick in the wall in protecting the U.S. from ASF.”

Officials are still working to determine how ASF entered the Dominican Republic, Sundberg said.

As for trying to keep ASF out of the United States, Werling said CBP checks incoming airline and cruise ship passengers to be sure they don’t bring contaminated pork products into the country. CBP also monitors the disposal of garbage from flights or ships to be sure it is handled properly.

Hog producers should think internationally when considering how ASF could reach the United States, Sundberg said. “Look at the source of your feed products. Where do you get your soybean meal? If you get it from a country with ASF, ASF may be in the meal. Biosecurity, whether on the farm or nationally, it’s like a series of hurdles. If the virus can jump one hurdle the USDA has put into place, maybe CBP is able to stop it. It’s a whole series of things stopping the virus from infecting pigs.”

Werling listed steps producers could take to help protect their pigs. They should monitor their pigs for ASF. Symptoms include high fever, anorexia, lethargy, weakness, cyanotic skin blotching and lesions.

If they see those signs, producers should report them to BOAH and their veterinarian. Producers should practice enhanced biosecurity measures, such as restricted access to hog barns and restrictions on who moves on and off the farm. Boots and clothing should be changed if moving from one area to another on the farm.

Producers should also consider participating in the Securing Indiana’s Pork Supply program, she said. The program, created in 2019, seeks to help pork producers prepare before a disease outbreak.

If ASF were detected in the United States, the goal would be to try to eradicate the disease as quickly as possible, Werling said. Euthanasia or depopulation would be used for infected pigs, she explained. “That’s not the answer we want to hear. But to decrease transmission of the disease, currently infected animals would be removed.”

An ASF diagnosis in the United States would bring production and economic concerns, Sundberg said. “If ASF gets into this country, the chief veterinary officer for the U.S. will announce we have ASF, and our international markets will cease. That’s a devastating economic effect.

“Right now, there is no vaccine, no way to treat a pig to keep it in production. The U.S. would be infected and international markets would react. USDA would try to find out how far it had spread in the country, try to contain it in that spot while making the argument that the rest of the country is free of ASF and should be returned to the international market.”

To declare itself free of ASF, a country would have to wait at least 12 months after the last infection, he said.

For more information on ASF, visit https://porkcheckoff.org/. To learn more about the Securing Indiana’s Pork Supply program, see www.in.gov/boah/species-information/swinepigs/securing-indianas-pork-supply/.