August 17, 2021

 

USDA determining how to help Dominican Republic combat ASF

 

 

The United States is attempting to determine how it can help the Dominican Republic as the latter once again tries to eradicate African swine fever (ASF), said Dr. Rosemary Sifford from United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) during a National Pork Board webinar.

 

USDA had already been working with the Dominican Republic on disease surveillance since 2019.

 

"They are an independent country, and so they are certainly leading their response. We will continue to offer our support," said Dr. Sifford.

 

So far, USDA is providing testing support as well as helping them bolster their in-country testing.

 

Sifford said USDA had previously shipped some laboratory equipment in hopes of setting up a lab, and that process has now been accelerated due to the discovery. "We expect to have staff there from USDA labs to train local laboratory technicians within the next couple weeks."

 

The country has also requested additional personal protective equipment for their responders, which Dr. Sifford said should be provided soon.

 

USDA continues to consult with the government in the Dominican Republic as well as coordinating and collaborating with various organisations working on the situation.

 

Similar offers have been made to the government of Haiti, and while there have been no reports of cases in the country, Dr. Sifford said USDA expects to have some assistance requests from the country for testing and laboratory support.

 

Efforts in Puerto Rico are underway to enhance mitigation as it is a US territory and close to the Dominican Republic. The current focus is on boat traffic and garbage disposal. However, USDA has also been working with the US Fish and Wildlife Services team for quite a while to conduct some feral swine control in Puerto Rico.

 

"We had a plan that was laid out to eradicate feral swine over a six-year period," said Dr. Sifford. "We're working at this time to try to put more resources into that plan and speed that up, with the hope that we could have a significant impact on the population of feral swine over the next 15-18 months, and then hopefully cut that eradication period in at least half."

 

Sifford said the process has already been started to add staff and resources in Puerto Rico to implement the accelerated strategy.

 

What's most important is to quickly contain and control the outbreak in the Dominican Republic to protect other regions in the Western Hemisphere from the disease.

 

According to Dr. Sifford, there are several preventative measures across federal and state agencies that have been in place for a long time, all of which have been ramped up given the new situation. Recent new initiatives include proper garbage disposal as well as strengthening dog importation requirements from ASF-affected countries. 

 

If ASF is ever discovered on the US mainland, Dr. Sifford said USDA would strongly consider implementing a 72-hour movement standstill on live swine and semen to be able to better assess the outbreak and implement control and eradication measures.

 

- National Hog Farmer