USDA Updates Swine Hemorrhagic Fevers Surveillance Plan

Jul 18, 2022

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is updating the Swine Hemorrhagic Fevers: African and Classical Swine Fevers Integrated Surveillance Plan to reflect recent enhancements in the program. APHIS developed the initial surveillance plan in 2019 to further its overall ASF preparedness efforts. These updates reflect additional measures put in place over the last year, particularly in light of the detection of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the western hemisphere which has not been present since the 1980s.

In 2021, ASF was detected in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Because of these countries' proximity to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, APHIS promptly increased existing mitigations and initiated several new proactive prevention efforts there. These efforts included enhanced surveillance in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and additional surveillance activities in feral swine.

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Video: Season 7, Episode 1: Managing Risk and Seeing Opportunities in U.S. Pork Production

Today’s episode features three guests discussing the similarities and differences between pork production in the United States and Brazil, along with strategies for managing risk in today’s industry while recognizing and acting on opportunities. First, Dr. Anne Caroline de Lara, executive manager of live pig production at Seara Alimentos, a JBS company in Brazil, is joined by Dr. Matthew Turner, head of operations for JBS Live Pork. Together, they discuss how labor, climate and ventilation challenges vary between Brazil and the United States, while underscoring their shared commitment to raising healthy pigs. They also point to lessons producers in both countries can take from one another’s systems and on-farm experiences. Then, Brady Reicks, risk manager at Reicks View Farms, shares his perspective on risk management, drawing from his background in markets and his transition into farming. He discusses how protecting margins varies by operation and offers practical approaches producers can use to make marketing and business decisions with greater confidence rather than hesitation.

Both conversations were recorded at recent industry events focused on swine livability, including the International Conference on Pig Livability and Iowa Swine Day.