USDA officials said while unfortunate, the detection of African swine fever (ASF) in Haiti was not unexpected due to recent cases of ASF in the Dominican Republic. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
On September 20, the Chief Veterinary Officer in Haiti reported a positive case of ASF was collected from a pig in a province bordering the Dominican Republic. The sample was tested by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories through a cooperative testing program.
“USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is committed to assisting both Haiti and the Dominican Republic in dealing with ASF and continues to consult with animal health officials in both countries to support response and mitigation measures,” USDA said in a release on Wednesday.
Safeguards in Place
Pork and pork products from the Haiti and the Dominican Republic are prohibited entry to the U.S. as a result of existing classical swine fever restrictions, USDA noted in a release. After ASF was detected in the Dominican Republic, APHIS increased surveillance and safeguards in U.S. territories to help prevent the spread of ASF to the U.S. from Haiti.
APHIS has been working closely with partners including the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. swine industry to prevent ASF from entering the U.S. In addition to increasing inspections of flights from Hispaniola to ensure travelers do not bring prohibited products to the U.S., CBP will also ensure that garbage from these airplanes is properly disposed of to prevent the transmission of ASF.
On Aug. 26, APHIS announced its intent to establish a Foreign Animal Disease protection zone in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ASF has not been detected in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APHIS is committed to keeping it out of both islands and the rest of the U.S.
“As part of the actions taken to create the protection zone, on September 17, APHIS issued a Federal Order suspending the interstate movement of all live swine, swine germplasm, swine products, and swine byproducts from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland United States until APHIS can establish sufficient mitigations to authorize such movement. USDA is taking these actions out of an abundance of caution to further safeguard the U.S. swine herd and protect the interests and livelihoods of U.S. pork producers,” the agency said in a release.
It’s important to remind people that ASF is not a threat to human health, it cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans and it is not a food safety issue.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Haiti Reports Outbreak of African Swine Fever
Dominican Republic Confirms Positive Case of African Swine Fever
Close All the Windows to Keep ASF Out
ASF in the Western Hemisphere: What’s Different 40 Years Later?
It’s Time to Batten Down the Hatches, Pork Industry Experts Say
Learn more about what the U.S. pork industry is doing to prevent ASF from entering the country.
