The Swine Health Information Center is encouraging pork producers to familiarize themselves with USDA’s newly updated African Swine Fever Response plan.
In July USDA APHIS released an updated version of its African Swine Fever Response Plan, known as the red Book. SHIC Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says the response plan is the product of the efforts of several working groups.
This has included several efforts by not only USDA but several working groups including the USDA APHIS ASF Technical working Group, the ASF Harvest Establishment Working Group, the USHA Swine Committee and USDA APHIS Wildlife Services. These groups have worked diligently over the last several months and years to enhance and increase ASF preparedness as well as readiness in the U.S.
There are several new ASF response plan components that were recently released including details on the establishment of a protection zone in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, looking at implementing the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Program as a way to certify healthy herds, focused on ASF and CSF and also the release of meat harvest, rendering and spray dried blood and plasma facility response plans.
These new edits and incorporations into the response plans are now available on USDA APHIS website. We encourage individuals to go and review those response plans so they can become familiar with the additions that have recently been released.
~ Dr. Megan Niederwerder, Swine Health Information Center
The July 2023 Red Book update reflects knowledge gained from policy discussions, response guidance development and lessons learned through federal, state and industry African Swine Fever exercises and is intended to provide strategic guidance prior to an outbreak.
