National Pork Producers Council
(Last) week, the American Society for Microbiology announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF), an animal disease affecting only pigs and with no human health or food safety risks. ASF is growing as outbreaks continue throughout China and other parts of Asia. The new experimental vaccine shows promise, but several steps are necessary before being commercially available, which will likely take several years. In the meantime, NPPC is focused on ensuring ASF doesn’t enter the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agricultural inspectors are the first line of defense against diseases and pests at U.S. land, sea and airports, and NPPC supports the addition of 60 new canine teams and 600 additional CBP agricultural inspectors. NPPC also supports funding for additional signage and other awareness mechanisms.