U.S. Department of Agriculture officials continue to closely monitor recent outbreaks of African swine fever in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
On Monday, September 20th, African swine fever was confirmed in Haiti for the first time in 37 years. Reports say 234 cases of ASF were found among a herd of 2,500 pigs.
According to Dr. Jack Shere with the USDA?s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the discovery of ASF in Haiti was unfortunate, but not unexpected as the virus was previously found in neighboring Dominican Republic in late July. Shere explains that the USDA issued a Federal Order suspending interstate movement of all live swine and swine products from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to the mainland United States.
?This protection zone protects them and it protects the United States mainland should a diagnosis be made in either Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands,? said Shere. ?They are ramping up inspection of flights and vessels that are coming in from foreign ports, especially the Caribbean.?
In a previous interview with the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Dr. Shere said a potential ASF outbreak in the United States could cost the swine industry up to $30 billion over a four-to-five-year period.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the ongoing ASF issue in the Western Hemisphere and discussed steps that need to be taken in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
?The only way we know today to deal with this is eradication,? said Vilsack. ?The reality is these countries don?t necessarily have either the technical systems or the financial wherewithal to be able to do this in a way that mitigates the consequences to their producers, but at the same time quickly eradicates the problem. We don?t know how extensive the situation is in Haiti, but our theory and belief is that it?s more widespread than perhaps we know today. We have to take the position, if you will, that we really need to be aggressive in both places.?
African swine fever is a viral disease that affects commercial, backyard, show and wild pig populations. It is not a human health or food safety issue, according to USDA.
