Farms.com Home › Ag Industry News

U.S. border security tightens due to ASF

Sep 17, 2018

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Border biosecurity increases to prevent the spread of disease into North America

Lauren Arva

Staff Writer

Farms.com

The United States is taking preventative measures to stop African Swine Fever (ASF) from crossing its borders.

With the spread of ASF in China and new reports of the disease in Belgium, concerns that the disease could enter the US from an affected Chinese province are present, a Farmscape article said today.

The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus that entered North America in 2013 initially came from a province in China. Worries that a similar intrusion could occur again are being taken into consideration, said Dr. Paul Sundberg, executive director of the Swine Health Information Centre.

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Pork Board, and the Swine Health Information Centre are working with the USDA to develop ways to heighten border security, said Sundberg.

One strategy is increasing inspections of people entering the U.S., he said.

“We're also asking for (the) USDA to help increase the inspections of any swill feeding, any food waste feeding that is going on with pigs around the country, increase those inspections of licensed feeders and increase the enforcement of the regulations for those that aren't licensed,” Sundberg said to Farmscape.

Looking at customs and border control is another strategy, said Liz Wagstrom, chief veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council.

"We've done several things in the United States... (we're looking) at customs and border control and asking them to specifically target flights and ships coming in from ASF positive countries," she told Farms.com today.

"As an industry... we're encouraging our producers to talk with their feed manufacturers and suppliers to understand what they're getting from where and understand the process under which the feed was manufactured."

An outbreak of ASF in the U.S. would remove its producers from the international trade market. The cost of isolating and eliminating the disease would add up to billions of dollars over the next decade, Sundberg said.

“What we're trying to do is look at all of the possible inputs and pathways that the virus could gain entry into the country and harden those systems as best as possible,” said Sundberg.

Ben185/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan | Made by Producers for Producers

Join Jill Brokaw, a third-generation pig farmer and staff member of the National Pork Board, as she dives into the vital role of the US Swine Health Improvement Plan, also known as US SHIP. The program establishes a national playbook of standards for monitoring African swine fever and classical swine fever.

Why Should Pork Producers Care? If a disease breaks out, officials will establish a control area to help contain the disease. This plan is designed to mitigate risk and demonstrate freedom of disease at the site level. The goal is to support business continuity outside of the control area in case of an outbreak.

How Will the Pork Industry Use US SHIP? US SHIP uses already existing programs to support the standards for biosecurity, traceability and disease surveillance.

Biosecurity: This plan uses your completed Secure Pork Supply plan to demonstrate compliance with the biosecurity program standards and shows your ability to reduce the risk of disease introduction.

Traceability: AgView can be used to demonstrate compliance with the traceability standards and the ability to electronically provide State and Federal agencies the traceability information they need to determine where disease is and isn’t.

Disease Surveillance: The Certified Swine Sampler Collector Program helps expand the number of people certified to take samples. In the event of a large-scale foreign animal disease outbreak, we will need a trained group of sample collectors to help animal health officials find where the disease is present. This is to help you demonstrate freedom of disease and support the permitted movement of animals.

Getting Started with US SHIP:

1. Enroll in U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan

2. Share 30 days of movement data

3. Have a completed Secure Pork Supply Plan

4. Become U.S. SHIP certified

5. Maintain communication with your state

Takeaway: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan helps safeguard animal health. Together, we're creating a sustainable future for pork production in the United States and taking steps to strengthen the business of U.S. pork producers everywhere