The Dominican Republic will slaughter tens of thousands of pigs after detecting outbreaks of African swine fever in 11 of the country’s 32 provinces, according to authorities. Reports indicate the government will pay pig farmers the market price of each animal slaughtered.
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Associate Administrator Jack Shere said safeguards are already in place and will be enhanced to prevent ASF from entering the United States.
Sources:
- Dominican Republic to kill thousands of pigs over swine fever outbreak, swineweb.com, August 3, 2021. Link.
- Urgent action needed to curb spread of ASF in the Americas, Feedstuffs, August 2, 2021. Link. Controlling the spread of the disease to new countries is still possible through proactive, concrete and coordinated actions by all the regional stakeholders, including the private as well as the public sectors. Achieving this will be critical to protecting food security and livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations from this devastating pig disease.
INSIGHTS: Whether on hobby farms or in large swine production units, reinforcing biosecurity protocols is critical. Feral hogs represent significant risk if ASF infects them.
AFS is commonly carried by arthropods, such as the soft-bodied tick, through uptake of blood from infected pigs <Link>. The soft tick Ornithodoros spp. is found throughout the western half of the United States, including Texas <Link>.