At the World Pork Expo, we are talking to many people about the pork industry. While Prop 12 and the market climate are very much top of mind, many organizations are reminding producers that we cannot take our foot off the gas in foreign animal disease prevention. The recent outbreak of avian influenza has been a great example of this.
Dr. Anna Forseth is NPPC’s Director of Animal Health. She talks about the situation on the island of Hispaniola, which is the countries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They are infected with African Swine Fever, and there?s not a whole lot being done with the socioeconomic climate. USDA had gone down to help, but there is little they can do anymore.
For years now, there have been companies trying to find a vaccine that works. However, we aren?t there yet. Dr. Forseth gives us an update on how things are coming.
Dr. Forseth reminds consumers and producers what would happen if a case was detected. It would involve an immediate stop movement of all animals for at least 72 hours.
But what about animals that are already on the move? Dr. Forseth says they are still working on options to safely handle hogs that could be on a truck when a stop order is issued.
You can learn more about ASF preparedness by visiting nppc.org or pork.org.
