Alert in Central America and Mexico on African swine fever outbreak

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The International Regional Organization for Animal and Plant Health (Oirsa) alerted Central America and Mexico on Thursday (29) about an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) detected on Wednesday in the Dominican Republic.

Based in El Salvador, the agency urged to “intensify the inspection of livestock products and by-products at ports, airports, and borders, to prevent African swine fever.”

It warned that this “would cause innumerable economic losses in the pork industry, given the report of an outbreak of the disease on July 28, 2021, in the provinces of Sanchez Ramirez and Montecristi, in the Dominican Republic.”

He detailed that the Ministry of Agriculture of that country reported the presence of this disease “in a reduced population of backyard pigs in the center and northwest of the Dominican Republic” after obtaining the results of 389 samples sent to the laboratory of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in the United States.

“Given this, immediate measures were taken such as prohibiting the movement of pigs – dead or alive – to and from those provinces and placing both under quarantine,” it added.

The Oirsa said it “will support containment, control, and eradication of the outbreak” and that “periodic epidemiological surveys will be carried out in the affected provinces, total military control in all strategic points of both provinces, among other measures.”

“It is essential to ensure the proper disposal of food leftovers in airplanes or ships coming from risk areas,” said OIRSA executive director Efrain Medina.

African swine fever is a serious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. It is highly contagious, responsible for heavy economic and productive losses, and is present in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

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