Every piece of pork brought across the border and every pair of boots worn on a foreign farm carries a potential risk to the U.S. swine herd as global outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease reach record levels.
ASF is a serious and widespread global threat. Outbreaks continue in affected countries, and the disease has entered new regions and reappeared in places that had previously eliminated it. According to the World Organization for Animal Health, more than 71 countries and territories have reported over 1.2 million cases of ASF in domestic and wild pigs and losses of more than 2.4 million domestic pigs since 2022.
Although ASF has never been found in the U.S., it’s close. That’s why Lisa Becton, DVM and associate director of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), is helping keep a close eye out on this disease’s movement to help protect the U.S. swine herd.
Each month, SHIC shares the Swine Disease Global Surveillance Report that is generated through a systematic process involving screening various official data sources from around the world. These data are then curated to create a raw repository where a multi-criteria rubric is applied. Each event is assigned a final score that encompasses details like the credibility of the information, the scale and speed of the outbreak, its connectedness to other factors, and the local capacity to respond.
African Swine Fever Isn’t Going Away
“ASF is still active globally and still a threat ,” Becton says. “Not only is it present in wild boar, but also in commercial operations. For example, Hungary recently reported their first ever ASF outbreak in a 3,100 head facility near the Romanian border. They had not reported that virus before in a commercial operation, so that’s concerning.”
Although they do not have any epidemiologic information of the cause, she says it shows the global pork industry that there are many risks out there as threats to pork production.
“Whether it’s through people, feed, the impact of wild boar or biosecurity protocols that aren’t adhered to, it’s a significant issue and something that we must continue to monitor,” she says.
Related to ASF, the global report noted that Canada and Japan recently signed an ASF zoning agreement that will allow pork trade to continue from unaffected regions in the event of an ASF outbreak in Canada. Japan, Canada’s largest pork export market by value, imported approximately $1.3 billion in Canadian pork products in 2025, representing 31% of the country’s pork export value.
Foot-and-Mouth Disease Remains a Major Regional Concern
Meanwhile in Africa, FMD remains a threat, Becton says. Ongoing SAT1 and SAT2 outbreaks of FMD virus have been reported across Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa.
SAT’s expansion is likely due to livestock movement, environmental pressures and vaccine limitations, says Sol Perez, project leader for the Swine Disease Global Surveillance Report at the University of Minnesota.
“These global developments underscore the need to strengthen early detection and surveillance systems, maintain stringent biosecurity measures across livestock value chains, and ensure that vaccine preparedness strategies are sufficiently flexible to incorporate emerging serotypes such as SAT1,” Perez says.
Becton says the vaccine challenges are one of her biggest concerns.
“Often, when countries look at their current control programs, they will utilize FMD vaccines, but their vaccine may not include that SAT1 serotype,” Becton explains. “Because of these different strains, affected countries are working with different vaccine manufacturers to ensure that they have the matching serotype.”
This all adds up to additional global restrictions on animal movements and making sure people aren’t illegally moving animals, she says.
“It’s going to take some time to get FMD under control in some of these regions,” Becton points out.
Do Your Part to Protect the U.S. Swine Herd
Becton doesn’t want to put a damper on international travelers right now, but she wants to remind them of their important role to keep U.S. pigs safe.
“Make sure you are not wearing any clothing or footwear that you wore in another country back onto a U.S. farm,” she says. “Do not bring back any pork products from your travels or eat pork products in the barn. We know that meat products can carry both ASF and FMD.”
If you allow visitors on your farm internationally or even domestically, Becton urges proper downtime and wearing farm-dedicated clothing and footwear.
“All these different steps put barriers in place to prevent the worst thing from happening,” she says. “So enjoy your time on vacation, but also be smart, apply common sense and biosecurity practices to protect you and your farm.”
