Abstract: A qualitative assessment of alternative eradication strategies for African swine fever in the Dominican Republic
Since its recent detection in July 2021, the reintroduction of African swine fever (ASF) in the Dominican Republic (DR) has generated much discourse on various measures for its effective control. Strategies range from complete depopulation of the swine population, as was done in 1978, to a system of passive surveillance with endemicity, with many in-between. Currently, ASF-decision makers need a peer evaluation and comparison and contrast of these potential strategies that incorporates both private and public perspectives. To achieve this, we used strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis to evaluate three different theoretical ASF control scenarios with the aim of contributing evaluations of alternatives strategies to mitigate the epidemic's impact. These included total depopulation of all pigs in the DR, partial depopulation, and continuation of current control measures. Relevant experts from the DR private swine industry were identified through "snowball sampling" techniques. Five experts completed the SWOT questionnaire and additional questions considering aspects of financial cost, social impact, feasibility, animal welfare, and regional policy.
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