USDA Hosts Third African Swine Fever Action Week – October 2 – 6, 2023

Oct 05, 2023

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is hosting its third annual African Swine Fever (ASF) Action Week from October 2 – 6, 2023. They are encouraging U.S. swine producers, small farms and pig owners to join us and learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the U.S. swine herd.

ASF has never been detected in the U.S., but since its detection in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in 2021, USDA has partnered with industry and states to enhance already strong safeguards to protect U.S. swine from this costly disease.

APHIS is asking producers and pig owners to join in efforts to stand vigilant against this disease.

Through the Protect Our Pigs campaign, USDA is raising awareness of ASF to help producers and veterinarians quickly find and share actionable information to defend their herds and livelihoods.

Source : utah.gov

Video: ASF Control Lessons - Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith, Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, shares what decades of work have revealed about ASF control. She explains why vaccine development remains difficult, how human activity and food waste drive disease spread, why resistant pig populations are an important research area, and how strict biosecurity with the right disinfectants can help to stop transmission. Listen now on all major platforms!

"It's really a very human-driven disease because people move pigs, decide how they're raised, how they're sold, and good biosecurity can do anything to ensure control."

Meet the guest: Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith / mary-louise-penrith-2b12bb42 is an Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. A veterinarian and internationally recognized researcher, she has dedicated decades to African swine fever epidemiology, control, and pig health, supporting FAO and WOAH initiatives while advancing research and education. Listen to Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith on the Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.