U.S. Pork Industry on Alert as African Swine Fever Sweeps China
As African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread in China, there are new worries that the contagious disease could make its way to the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service summarizes the disease as:
“... a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs of all ages. ASF is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. It is not a food safety issue. ASF is found in countries around the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, it has spread through China, Mongolia and Vietnam, as well as within parts of the European Union. It has never been found in the United States – and we want to keep it that way.”