With the lives of pigs and the livelihoods of businesses and communities at stake, there’s a sense of urgency from pork producers and their herd’s caregivers around the world. Since the most recent outbreak took hold in China’s Liaoning Province on August 3rd, 2018 swift measures have been taken in Myanmar, the People’s Republic of Korea and Viet Nam. European nations where ASF is present like Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary are also in containment mode.

As of January 2019, 916,000 pigs have been culled in China alone to tackle the ASF outbreak. Such drastic measures are driven by the fact that, unlike Classical Swine Fever, ASF currently has no approved treatment or vaccine.

The facts on ASF

It can have a 100% mortality rate

It is often caused by pigs ingesting undercooked or uncooked pork products

It spreads in multiple ways – physical contact, body fluids, contact with a secondary medium such as transportation, equipment or clothing and via some tick species

ASF can be highly resistant to environmental temperatures and disinfectants

ASF has yet to occur in America





Australia has also reported the presence of ASF. What is worrying, in that case, is that the products had already been smuggled into the airport but were stopped in time. Belgium reported an outbreak outside of their control zone which threatens the immediate border with France.

The fact that there’s never been an outbreak of ASF in America offers comfort. This is due to the U.S. regulating how we feed our pigs since 1980 and to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which strictly blocks any importation of pigs from ASF-stricken areas.

However, it would only take a single tick hitching a ride or a person with clothing exposed to the virus entering America to cause disaster for our herds. The final responsibility of vigilance falls on U.S. pork producers who understand that trust in the USDA is not enough.













