(NAFB.com) – USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is celebrating its many successful efforts to prevent African swine fever from reaching the United States. In honor of ASF Action Week, APHIS is recognizing the continuing efforts to prevent this deadly swine disease from reaching our shores. USDA’s  Dr. Rosemary Sifford says, “The United States has always had a system of interlocking safeguards in place to protect against foreign animal diseases, however the spread of ASF abroad made us review and strengthen our protections.” Some of the agency’s major accomplishments in these areas include enhancing existing safeguards, strengthening Customs and Border Protection partnerships, and further collaboration with states, industry and producers. APHIS continues to conduct surveillance for ASF in domestic and feral swine in the mainland United States. Since August 2021, APHIS has tested almost 6,000 samples from higher-risk domestic herds, and more than 26,000 case-compatible samples from veterinary diagnostic laboratories and production facilities.