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The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced new efforts to help prevent the introduction and spread of African swine fever in the U.S. Through an outreach and awareness campaign called “Protect Our Pigs,”
African swine fever has never been detected in the U.S. but has recently been confirmed in countries as close as the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The U.S. is one of the world's largest pork producers and the second-largest exporter of pork globally. If the disease arrives in the U.S., it is estimated it could cost the country $50 billion dollars over 10 years.
APHIS is deploying a variety of outreach efforts to support commercial pork producers, veterinarians, and pig owners. The new Protect Our Pigs website, aphis.usda.gov/ProtectOurPigs, will house materials such as downloadable fact sheets and posters, instructional videos, shareable social media graphics, a new interactive biosecurity guide, and offer the latest disease updates. If African swine fever is detected in the U.S., APHIS will also be ready to respond immediately with actionable information and resources for pig owners and the public.
As part of these outreach efforts, on June 29 at 3 p.m. EDT, APHIS will host African Swine Fever: What You Need to Know, which will feature a panel of experts representing the pork industry, pig owners and veterinarians who will discuss the latest on the disease, protective actions and respond to questions.
June 15, 2022/ USDA/ United States.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov
