Meat+Poultry - September 2018 - 52

ANIMAL HEALTH

Products and
specimens
confiscated
by CBP:

49%
44%
ASIA

EUROPE

African Swine Fever
is highly contagious
to wild boar.

introduction to the
UK is still considered
to be low, but the
risk is showing no
signs of decreasing.
There could be a risk
involving vehicle
traffic and movement
of people from
affected Eastern EU
countries in light of
evidence of contaminated non-EU origin pork
products detected in the EU.

AVENUES FOR INTRODUCTION

52

MEAT+ POULTRY | 09.18 | www.meatpoultry.com

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The main line of defense against ASF is rapid
detection, Roth says. Currently, there is no
active surveillance for ASF going on, but
there is awareness among producers that they
should immediately call their veterinarian if
they see something unusual in their herds.
If the veterinarian sees something unusual
- even if they just suspect African Swine Fever
or Classical Swine Fever or foot-and-mouth
- they need to call the state veterinarian or
USDA veterinarian in their state.
Roth says "...they will send out trained

©Vladyslav Danilin - stock.adobe.com

The United States currently is ASF-free.
But researchers with the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the
US Dept. of Agriculture published a review
of vulnerabilities that could lead to the
introduction of ASF to the US.
In an article published in Frontiers in
Veterinary Science in February, the authors,
Vienna R. Brown and Sarah N. Bevins identified
legal and illegal movement of live animals,
legal and illegal movement of feed, animal
products and byproducts; and bioterrorism
as vulnerabilities.
The illegal importation of livestock products
also puts the US at risk for the introduction of
African Swine Fever, according to the review.
Citing data provided by Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) of the US Dept. of Homeland
Security, more than 68,000 products and
specimens derived from domestic swine were
confiscated by CBP between 2012 and 2016.
"The continents of origin for the majority
of products and specimens confiscated by CBP

are Asia and Europe, which comprise 49 and
44 percent of the confiscations, respectively,"
the authors wrote. South America, Australia,
Africa, and unknown account for ≤1 percent
each, and products and specimens confiscated
from North America comprise 5 percent."
In 2017, the GAO reported that wildlife
trafficking generates an estimated $7 billion
to $23 billion annually. Illegal trade in
wildlife continues to push some protected
and endangered animal species to the brink
of extinction.
The authors also identified as a problem the
illegal importation of warthog products. The
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) oversees
confiscation of illegally imported wildlife.
However, the authors cited a 1994 report
from the General Accountability Office which
estimated that 1 percent to 3 percent of illegal
wildlife shipments carried by passengers and
between 1 percent and 10 percent of illegally
imported wildlife in declared cargo shipments
are detected.
"Warthog products are responsible for
more than 60 percent of confiscations followed
by wild boar, bush pigs, unspecified swine
products, and babirusa; however, the sample
size is small because of the specific nature of
the data and because not all illegal imports are
likely to be detected," the authors wrote.
Finally, ASF is a potential weapon for use
in a bioterrorist attack. Bevins and Brown said
the value of the US pork industry; ease of viral
spread, the stability of the virus outside of a
host; the safety of the individuals releasing
the virus (it only affects pigs); and the
devastating economic impact of an outbreak
in the US swineherd are factors that make ASF
attractive to terrorists.
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