African Swine Fever: More Work Needs to Be Done, Swine Health Experts Say
Significant progress in preparedness and prevention of African swine fever (ASF) has been made in the U.S., including the creation of an Industry ASF Strategy Work Group by the boards of directors for the National Pork Board (NPB) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) to unify ASF preparation and response efforts.
NPPC Consultant Liz Wagstrom, AASV Executive Director Harry Snelson, and NPB Assistant Chief Veterinarian Patrick Webb recently joined Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) Associate Director Megan Niederwerder and SHIC Talk host Barbara Campbell Determan, to share an update on ASF.
Over the last 15 months, the disease has continued to spread to new regions in Europe and Asia. It was detected in the Dominican Republic and soon thereafter in Haiti on the island of Hispaniola one year ago.
Niederwerder pointed to the SHIC Disease Monitoring Reports as a resource for global ASF awareness, highlighting the first official reports of ASF detection in Thailand and mainland Italy occurring in January 2022.
Significant efforts have been made to identify gaps in response capabilities and develop strategies and resources to address those gaps. Snelson explained the shortage in resources and personnel in the industry for an ASF response effort and shared information on the Certified Swine Sample Collector program now in the pilot phase of development. Goals include increasing the number of trained personnel proficient at sample collection in the event of an ASF outbreak.
Webb offered information on AgView database dashboard technology where producers and state animal health officials are creating accounts which will enable them to communicate rapidly in the event of a FAD investigation or outbreak, SHIC reports. Producers can contribute to U.S. preparedness by signing up for an AgView account and adopting this contact-tracing technology.
While awareness of ASF has risen in the U.S. pork industry, the experts said there are areas where further work is needed.
More FAD investigations and laboratory surveillance is needed to increase the country's likelihood of early and rapid detection should ASF be introduced, they urged. Continued focus on farm biosecurity is necessary, including applying sow/breeding farm practices to grow-finish sites where vulnerabilities have been exposed.
Interest remains high regarding feed biosecurity and how to mitigate those risks on the farm, the SHIC Talk guests explained. Recognizing ASF may not always present with high death loss is important as a broad spectrum of clinical signs have been reported in the Dominican Republic. Broadening our testing protocols by using additional sample types would benefit surveillance capacity.
Key take-home messages include:
- Create an AgView account for movement tracking and rapid communication
- Establish a relationship with your state animal health official and USDA area veterinarian in charge
- If you see something, say something: report abnormal clinical signs in your herd
- Emphasize biosecurity as a priority day in and day out to personnel on your site
