The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is hosting African Swine Fever (ASF) Action Week from September 13-17 – encouraging U.S. swine producers to join multiple webinars to learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the U.S. swine herd. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also recorded a video echoing the importance of keeping this devastating disease out of the United States.
“This disease does not affect people and it cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans, and it’s not a food safety issue,” Vilsack said. “However, ASF is incredibly destructive, and we need you to be informed.”
“ASF outbreaks have ravaged hog populations in parts of Europe and Asia, especially China, over the last three years, and the disease was recently detected in captive hogs in Germany and confirmed less than a thousand miles away from our shores in the Dominican Republic in July,” said Vilsack. “African swine fever has never been detected in the United States, and we are committed to keeping it out and protecting our vital swine industry.”
Every day the week of September 13-17, from 2:00 pm – 3:00pm EDT, APHIS will host a webinar on a different ASF topic. These webinars will also be recorded. The webinars will be as follows:
- Monday, September 13: African Swine Fever: Where it Exists and What’s at Stake
- Tuesday, September 14: Steps APHIS is Taking to Prevent and Prepare for ASF
- Wednesday, September 15: ASF and the Benefits of Biosecurity
- Thursday, September 16: What to Expect in an ASF Outbreak
- Friday, September 17: ASF and the Feral Swine Factor
Source : usda.gov