The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday that the Dominican Republic (DR) has confirmed cases of African swine fever (ASF). The cases were confirmed as part of a cooperative surveillance program between the U.S. and the DR. The U.S. remains free of ASF, which is an animal disease affecting only pigs with no human health implications. USDA notes there have not been any imports of pork, animal feed or other pork production-related products from the Dominican Republic.
“The United States has significantly bolstered biosecurity to protect the U.S. swine herd since ASF broke in China nearly three years ago and began spreading to other parts of the world,” said Liz Wagstrom, chief veterinarian with the National Pork Producers Council. “We are thankful for steps taken by the USDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including strengthened border inspection and the implementation of an active surveillance program designed to quickly detect and eradicate ASF. These measures are particularly important now that ASF has been detected in the Western hemisphere for the first time in approximately 40 years.”
Vacation and other travelers to the Dominican Republic should know that it is illegal to transport specialty meat products or other agriculture products from the DR to the U.S.
For additional information on ASF biosecurity, visit www.nppc.org/asf.