Indiana, Michigan Working to Prevent Swine Fever
Published: Friday, January 17, 2020
State agencies haven't put pork producers in Indiana and Michigan on high alert, but concern over the threat of African swine fever, which has ravaged pig populations overseas, is very real.
Consequently, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have been engaging in Secure Pork Supply planning activities and more outreach is planned for the weeks and months ahead.
In December, BOAH hosted a follow-up meeting to discuss disease response steps outlined during a four-day national exercise for the 14 top-pork-producing states. Regional meetings are in the works and "producers are ready to take the next step," Kelli Werling, the BOAH swine health programs director, said earlier this week.
Michigan State University Extension held educational meetings at locations throughout the Lower Peninsula earlier in January and, starting in March, MSU Extension will hold breakfast roundtable discussions.
Although there are no indications that an ASF outbreak is imminent in the United States, the idea is to be proactive, as opposed to reactive, in the hopes of stopping the disease at the border, and to be ready to deal with one if it were to occur.
"Our meetings have been all about secure pork supply and helping the farmers prepare and understand the steps that will be taken if a foreign animal disease outbreaks in the United States," said Beth Ferry, a pork educator with MSU Extension. "The reason that we're focusing on pig farmers right now is because of the spread of African swine fever, which is in China and moving its way across different countries—as recently as this last week."
China's $128 billion pork industry lost 100 million pigs, or about one-third of the country's pig population, last summer to ASF, which is believed to have been brought into the country by infected wild pigs migrating from Russia. In September, South Korea reported an outbreak and in November, the carcasses of 18 wild boars infected with ASF were found in Poland, 70 miles from the German border.
"Most producers are aware of what's going on overseas," Werling said. "And knowing that some of our producers have relationships overseas is reason to have a healthy amount of concern. There is no human health risk for anyone who comes in contact with the swine virus. You could eat the meat and not be affected. That said, consumer perception is that you don't want to do that."
The effect on pigs is not nearly as benign.
The strain moving through Asia is "pretty aggressive and can result in up to 100-percent mortality rate," Werling said.
There are no known treatments or anti-virus medications currently available, and an outbreak in a domestic pig herd, with no immunity, could be catastrophic.
The virus is especially hearty and resistant. Pigs can catch the virus from other animals, from food that contains parts of infected animals and contaminated feed. It can withstand cold, and even freezing, temperatures, which means it can be inadvertently transported in waste and other materials from infected pigs. It can also be spread via tools and equipment, people and vehicles.
"There are a lot of different vectors for how this disease is spread," Ferry said. "We obviously don't want to see it in the United States, but we have to be prepared for it. (MSU's extension programs are) all voluntary and for farmers who really want to be a step ahead of the game in case something happens.
"The situation we will be looking at, if we break in the United States, the USDA is prepared to have a stop-movement for swine for at least 72 hours, and it could be longer. That means everything stops – you cannot sell your pigs, you cannot move these pigs and you cannot take them to the local butcher. It doesn't matter was size of operation you have or how many pigs you have. This will impact anybody with pigs, even those who have potbellied pigs in their home."
The USDA's plan of action, if an outbreak occurs, is to depopulate an infected herd and any suspect herds that are near or linked to the herd.
"Best-case scenario, it's one herd, one situation," Ferry said. "If I had a crystal ball, I could tell you (if it's going to reach the U.S.), but I hear everything from, 'It's never going to happen,' to 'It's not a case of if, it's a case of when.' "
Biosecurity has been stepped up at border entry points to more closely identify products that can't be brought into the United States, and foreign feed suppliers are taking extra time to make sure viable ASF virus isn't in imported pig food.
"But it's a guessing game, at this point," Ferry said. "We have lots of different hog farmers, and for some of them, their entire livelihood depends on the swine industry, so of course they are very, very concerned. Borders could close between states where we can't ship hogs out. Farms could be shut down or depopulated. They're concerned about biosecurity and they very well should be.
"Now at least, we know what the response is going to look like and we're a lot more prepared."
Although the U.S. has no first-hand experience with ASF, it is looking at how other countries, including some in the Western Hemisphere, have handles outbreaks.
Decades ago, Werling said, ASF reached Cuba and the Dominican Republic in the early 1970s and the '80s. Those countries eventually eradicated ASF, but it took decades.
"While it's wonderful that we've never had an outbreak in the United States, there are some gaps in what we know on how to control and eradicate it," Werling said. "Hopefully, we never have to experience it, but preparedness is never a wasted effort in the long run."
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