As African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread throughout Asia and parts of Europe, we see firsthand the devastation it causes to swine populations.
The United States remains ASF free but, in 2021, ASF was detected in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These are the closest detections to the United States in decades and pose an increased threat to the U.S. swine herd. The U.S. has remained on high alert and has aggressively taken steps to protect not only U.S. pigs but the rural communities that support the swine industry's half a million jobs.
We can't do it alone, and we applaud the swine industry for their proactive efforts to increase biosecurity, preparedness, and surveillance for this costly disease. Just as we successfully worked together to respond to diseases like Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus, pseudorabies, and swine influenza virus, I know that together we can face the threat of ASF. We all must remain vigilant and keep ASF out of the United States!
For our part, we have strong safeguards in place, including: a surveillance program to rapidly detect ASF and serve as an early warning system; increased testing capabilities at our National Animal Health Laboratory Network to handle large volumes of samples if needed; enhanced work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry targeting cargo, passengers, and products from ASF-affected countries; added import restrictions on pork and pork products from ASF-affected countries; and increased detector dog teams to sniff out illegal products at key U.S. commercial sea and airports.