USDA invests $1,7 million in ASF fight

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to award a $1,7 million grant to research center Swine Health Information Center. This money is used to fight African swine fever in Asia.

To prevent animal disease in Asia to fight, will support US researchers in the collection and analysis of all disease samples. In addition, the subsidy will be used to increase pork exports from the United States to the region, thereby avoiding a shortage of pork. However, the ultimate goal is to minimize the risk of African swine fever in the American pig population.

Organize training
The project to fight the virus is divided into several phases. In the first phase, which will be launched shortly, American researchers will Vietnam travel and analyze the current situation. They will then organize various training courses in the prevention and control of animal disease. Various field projects will also be implemented at a later stage.

The hope of the US Department of Agriculture is that these projects can provide more insight into the distribution routes of the animal disease. In this way, it wants to improve the cleaning and disinfection procedures in Asia improve.

China puts reserves on the market
The dire situation in Asia is also apparent from the fact that the Chinese government reports that it is marketing pork from state reserves, among other things. As a result of the African swine fever outbreaks, the pig population in the country has fallen sharply, causing the offer is limited. This also means that the pig price at a record level condition (converted €2,65 per kilogram of live weight).

In addition, almost all provinces in Laos have now been affected by the virus; 15 of the 18 provinces are now battling African swine fever. The total number of reported outbreaks of African swine fever has risen to 94, with a death toll close to 26.000.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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