Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to implement an African Swine Fever (ASF) surveillance program. As part of this plan, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will work with the swine industry, the states, and veterinary diagnostic laboratories to test for ASF.
As ASF continues to spread in China, there’s been recent concerns about the highly contagious and deadly disease making its way to the U.S. While ASF affects both domestic and wild pigs, it does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans, says USDA. ASF has never been detected in the United States.