The Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center says movement of African Swine Fever to Vietnam further increases the risk of the infection spreading to North American and other regions of the world.
The Vietnamese Government has served notice that African Swine Fever has been detected in Northern Vietnam.
Dr. Paul Sundberg, the Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center, says this is significant because it’s an indication that this virus is active, it continues to move and now it’s moving into other countries from China so this is one we want to keep an eye on and see how things progress in the rest of southeast Asia.
I think we need to keep in mind that this is another indication of the spread and the pressure from this virus. It has infected China. It continues to move through there. The Chinese government says they have it under control but word is that it’s under reported in China and this is an indication that it’s continuing to move and that means more pressure.
That more pressure in not only on neighboring countries in southeast Asia and Asia but, with the travel of international visitors and all of the international trade that happens it’s also an indication that the pressure on the North American continent, the United States and Canada and Mexico and everywhere else continues to happen. I think we should use it as another warning sign that African Swine Fever is alive and well and able to move from one country to another.
~ Swine Health Information Center, Dr. Paul Sundberg
Dr. Sundberg says the message for pork producers is one of biosecurity, to make sure their farms are tight, that they don’t allow contact with products that are coming in from other countries and that they are paying attention to everybody that comes onto and off of the farm, that they’re clean and acceptable to be there. He says that’s probably the most doable and also the most important biosecurity and prevention aspect with any of the foreign animal diseases.
