Russian ASF Outbreak Highlights Need for Vigilance in Accessing Feed

The Swine Health Information Center suggests an African Swine Fever outbreak in Russia underscores the need for vigilance in sourcing feed.

As part of its global swine disease surveillance report, released as part of its June eNewsletter, the Swine Health Information Center outlines an extensive African Swine Fever outbreak on a commercial operation in Russia.

Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center and a member of the Swine Innovation Porc Coordinated African Swine Fever Research Working Group, says roughly 100 thousand pigs broke with ASF and investigators have come up with ASF positive feed samples.

Clip-Dr. Paul Sundberg-Swine Health Information Center:

It's very possible that these outbreaks are related to at least contaminated feed being fed to those pigs.We know from the SHIC supported research on ASF in feed that that certainly can be a risk.

Now that risk may be very small but the result of that risk can be very devastating.North America does not have African Swine Fever therefor products that are sourced from North America will not have African Swine fever virus in them but imported products may, depending on the region of the world they come from.

A variety of different educational materials is available from the National Pork Board, from the Swine Health Information Center on our web site about talking to your feed supplier about the source of feed, about how they're handled, about how they can mitigate the risk that may be there.

I'd encourage all producers to access those materials or talk to their veterinarian or their feed supplier about this and get information.

Ask them these hard questions about where their feed components come from and potential risk that could result from sourcing them from areas of the world that have African Swine Fever endemic.

The Swine Health Information Center's swine disease surveillance reports can be accessed at swinehealth.org.