APHIS is encouraging U.S. swine producers, small farms and pig owners to join and learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the U.S. swine herd.

USDA

October 6, 2022

2 Min Read
African Swine Fever and you: What’s up with that?
Plum Island Animal Disease Center

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is hosting its second African Swine Fever Action Week from Oct. 10-14. The agency is encouraging U.S. swine producers, small farms and pig owners to join and learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the U.S. swine herd.

ASF has never been detected in the United States, but since the 2021 detection in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the closest to the mainland in decades, USDA has partnered with industry and states to enhance already strong safeguards to protect U.S. swine from this costly disease.

"African swine fever is not a threat to human health nor is it a food safety concern," said Jack Shere, APHIS associate administrator and leader of the agency's ASF prevention efforts. "But, if introduced here, ASF will kill millions of pigs Americans rely on for food and trade. And, were it to become endemic, it would take us more than 10 years and about $80 billion to eradicate the disease."

Join APHIS all week on Twitter, Facebook and the website to learn more about what APHIS is doing, and what you can do, to Protect our Pigs. Tune in for two special live events:

  • Tuesday, Oct. 11: U.S. Mitigation, Live Twitter Q&A. Two ASF subject matter experts will answer your questions on Twitter from 2 to 3 p.m. ET.

  • Thursday, Oct. 13: The State of African swine fever, live webinar with Jack Shere. Shere, will also host a live webinar on the latest APHIS and industry prevention actions, the U.S. approach to disease mitigation, and address questions collected from U.S. swine producers, small farmers and pig owners from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. ET. To join, register in advance here.

Through the Protect Our Pigs campaign, USDA is raising awareness of ASF to help producers and veterinarians quickly find and share actionable information to defend their herds and livelihoods. Free resources, such as custom videos, downloadable materials and interactive training guides are available at the Protect Our Pigs website.

Source: USDA APHIS, which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

About the Author(s)

Subscribe to Our Newsletters
National Hog Farmer is the source for hog production, management and market news

You May Also Like