Swine industries around the world continue to struggle containing and eliminating African swine fever (ASF). Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the latest countries to fall victim to this devastating, infectious disease of pigs that results in high mortality.
It has been almost 40 years since the virus was detected in the Western Hemisphere. This is a huge concern due to the proximity to the U.S. Even though there is a lot of research being done to develop a commercial vaccine, there is no vaccine or treatment commercially available to prevent or treat this virus.
That’s why it’s so important that we develop better surveillance protocols before an outbreak occurs in the U.S.
The U.S. swine industry is on high alert and has heightened biosecurity measures since the identification of ASF in China in 2018. There is extensive collaboration between the swine industry, swine veterinarians, and state and federal government officials to strengthen border protection, implement active surveillance programs, enhance farm biosecurity protocols, develop biosecurity measures for feed ingredients, and develop programs that would allow business continuity for the U.S. producers in case of virus introduction.
Animal health officials, diagnostic laboratories, veterinarians and producers are working to prepare for an ASF outbreak. Having surveillance protocols prior to an outbreak will help drive that effort. It is imperative to identify the virus through appropriate samples to prevent it from spreading.
The Secure Pork Supply website is an excellent resource with training materials for disease monitoring and sample collection. Currently, the validated samples for ASF detection are whole blood, spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils and kidneys. The collection of these validated samples requires a USDA Category II accredited veterinarian and this can potentially slow down timely identification and containment of the virus.
I obtained a research grant from the National Pork Board and collaborated with USDA Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on Plum Island (FADDL), USDA National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), the Romanian Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Romania (USAMV) and Dr. Adrian Balaban to access three Romanian commercial farms to acquire ASF-positive samples.
The objective of this study is to evaluate spread of the ASF virus through commercial farms in Romania, as well as to help refine ASF surveillance protocols. The samples collected from Romanian farms that tested positive mirror U.S. production housing configuration and genetics.
The number and type of samples needed were developed with the help of NAHLN. Based on the size of the farms, whole blood, oral fluid and spleen samples from three ASF-positive farms have been collected and stored at -80°C at USAMV. We are in the process of shipping them to FADDL for analysis and testing.
Acquiring ASF positive samples from an endemic country will help determine how these sample types and diagnostic tests can be utilized during an ASF response in the U.S. The diagnostic results can be placed into models to demonstrate how we can then utilize these samples and test results during an ASF outbreak to help develop and refine our surveillance protocols.
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