#16,101
African Swine Fever has killed somewhere between 1/3rd and 1/2 of the world's swine over the past decade - mostly in Asia and Eastern Europe - and poses a constant threat to spread to unaffected regions, including the United States and Canada (see USDA Enhances Domestic ASF Surveillance Efforts).
In 2018-2019, the global spread of ASF increased markedly - particularly due to outbreaks in China and Southeast Asia - after smoldering in Eastern Europe and Russia for the better part of 10 years. ASF has never been reported in the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
Although African Swine Fever can be transmitted directly from pig-to-pig, and can be carried by certain types of ticks, in many cases the virus has been spread by the movement of contaminated food products, animal feed or bedding, or other products to uninfected regions.
For the past few years we've been following numerous reports (see here, here, here, and here) of the confiscation ASF-positive food products (see photo below) carried by travelers coming from endemic regions, at ports of entry in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Australia.
The illegal importation of food products also happens at a much larger scale, as we saw in March of 2019 in USDA Statement On Seizure Of 1 Million Pounds Of Smuggled Chinese Pork.
In October of 2019, just 3 months before our attentions were diverted by COVID, in Nature Sci. Rpts: Risk of African Swine Fever Virus Introduction into the United States, we looked at the very real possibility of this virus being imported into the United States.
While North American remains free from the ASF virus, the more inroads it makes around the globe, the more opportunities it will have to jump into our backyard (see USDA's A qualitative assessment of the likelihood of ASF virus entry to the United States. March 2019).
Six days ago, the USDA announced (see below) the first detection of ASF in the Dominican Republic since it was eradicated 40 years ago, bringing it uncomfortably close to the United States.
USDA Statement on Confirmation of African Swine Fever in the Dominican RepublicPublished: Jul 28, 2021
Contact:
Lyndsay Cole – Lyndsay.m.cole@usda.gov
Mike Stepien – Mike.Stepien@usda.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has confirmed African swine fever (ASF) in samples collected from pigs in the Dominican Republic through an existing cooperative surveillance program.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has numerous interlocking safeguards in place to prevent ASF from entering the United States. Pork and pork products from the Dominican Republic are currently prohibited entry as a result of existing classical swine fever restrictions. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is increasing inspections of flights from the Dominican Republic to ensure travelers do not bring prohibited products to the United States. CBP will also be ensuring that garbage from these airplanes are properly disposed of to prevent the transmission of ASF.
USDA is committed to assisting the Dominican Republic in dealing with ASF, is offering continued testing support, and will consult with them on additional steps or actions to support response and mitigation measures. We will also offer similar help to Haiti, which borders the Dominican Republic and is at high risk for ASF detections.
The USDA continues to work diligently with partners including CBP and the U.S. swine industry to prevent ASF from entering the United States. ASF is not a threat to human health, cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans and it is not a food safety issue.
Yesterday the UK's DEFRA published a preliminary analysis of this outbreak (excerpts below).
Preliminary Outbreak Assessment
African swine fever in the Dominican Republic
29 July 2021 Ref: VITT/1200 ASF in The Dominican Republic Disease report
On 28 July 2021, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed African swine fever virus (ASFV) in samples collected from pigs in the Dominican Republic through an existing cooperative surveillance program (USDA; 2021). There have been two confirmed reports of the disease. One outbreak affected 827 animals (266 of which tested positive) in La mina in the north of the island, just over 20km from the border with Haiti, with initial samples taken on 1 July. Samples from the second outbreak were taken on 14 July and involved 15 animals (seven of which tested positive) in the central region of La Breña. Domestic control measures including zoning, increased surveillance, movement controls and quarantine have been applied. Details on the strain have not been released.
Outbreak data
Details of all outbreaks and cases provided in this report were taken from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), unless stated otherwise.
Situation assessment
This is the first time ASF has been confirmed in the Dominican Republic since the outbreaks between 1978 and 1980 during which a total of 192,000 pigs were culled following virus confirmation at 374 locations (PigProgress; 2021).
The Dominican Republic is currently dealing with an outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF) and pork and pork products from the Dominican Republic are currently prohibited from entry to the United States of America (USA) as a result of existing CSF restrictions. Additionally, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is increasing inspections of flights from the Dominican Republic to ensure travellers do not bring prohibited products to the USA. CBP will also be ensuring that waste from these airplanes are properly disposed of to prevent the transmission of ASF.
The USDA is assisting the Dominican Republic in dealing with ASF, offering continued testing support, and will consult with them on additional steps or actions to support response and mitigation measures. They are also offering similar help to Haiti, which borders the Dominican Republic and is at high risk for ASF detections (USDA; 2021).
During the last outbreak of ASF in the Dominican Republic in 1978-1980; the infection spread to Haiti, Cuba and Brazil. The last known report of ASF from the Americas dates from 1982 in Haiti.
Conclusion
ASF in domestic pigs has now been reported in the Dominican Republic for the first time in 40 years, representing another large geographical jump with the disease having previously having been restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is endemic, eastern Europe and Germany, and Asia and Oceania. This is a further example of the geographical jumps that have spread ASF to (and within) Europe, Asia and Oceania since 2007 and demonstrates the potential for further spread of ASF into and within the domestic pig populations globally.
For more on ASF, you may wish to revisit:
DEFRA Outbreak Assessment: African Swine Fever in Europe (Eastern Europe & Germany)
DEFRA On India's African Swine Fever Outbreak
OIE Notification: Nearly 400 ASF Outbreaks In Indonesia
