African Swine Fever Response

In July 2021, APHIS confirmed the presence of African swine fever (ASF) in the Dominican Republic, near the border with Haiti.

Epidemic outbreaks of ASF can result in significant economic impacts, depending on the duration of the outbreak, extent of trade embargoes, and reaction of producers and consumers to the disease and response measures.

APHIS has been working with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Agriculture to develop an enhanced surveillance strategy to identify infected farms and support response actions, including testing, depopulation, and cleaning and disinfection.

This project (conducted in cooperation with OIRSA) provides funding and support to 1) ensure that field staff have the resources, supplies, and training needed to carry out these activities and allow the response to scale up for more rapid control of the spread of ASF; 2) enhance veterinary laboratory capacity and biosecurity to conduct diagnostic testing associated with the response; and 3) enhance biocontainment through placing canine detector dogs and incinerators at airports to prevent the international spread of ASF.