The Dominican Republic is limiting shipments of pigs and using its military to contain the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF). Reuters says the Dominican ag ministry made the announcement as the U.S. and Mexico tightened border checks to avoid spreading the infection. The U.S. and Mexico are both boosting airport inspections to stop travelers from bringing in Dominican pork products that could carry the virus.
U.S. testing of almost 400 samples from Dominican-raised hogs from farms and backyards shows that the disease is in a small population of pigs in two provinces, which together contain almost 20,000 pigs. To put that in perspective, the Dominican has about 1.8 million hogs in total.
The ag ministry is prohibiting the movement of live and slaughtered pigs from those provinces, mentioning that there will be “total military control in all strategic points of both provinces,” and the ministry will help disinfect affected areas.
The disease originated in Africa before it spread to Asia and Europe, killing hundreds of millions of pigs and reshaping global meat and feed markets.
