(NAFB) – The Department of Agriculture announced this week that the Dominican Republic has confirmed cases of African swine fever.

The cases were confirmed as part of a cooperative surveillance program between the United States and the Dominican Republic. The United States remains free of ASF, an animal disease affecting only pigs with no human health implications, and imports no pork, animal feed or other pork-related products from the Dominican Republic.

While the finding is concerning, National Pork Producers Council chief veterinarian Liz Wagstrom states, “The United States has significantly bolstered biosecurity to protect the U.S. swine herd since ASF broke in China nearly three years ago.”

NPPC urges producers use caution when hosting on-farm visitors from an ASF-positive region, review biosecurity protocols and visit with feed suppliers to discuss the origin of feed ingredients. Additionally, NPPC encourages producers to fill out the Foreign Animal Disease Preparation Checklist and enroll in the Secure Pork Supply program.