Study Show ASF Contaminated Meat is Reaching Border Points

February 4, 2019 — 

The Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center says a study conducted in Australia shows African Swine Fever contaminated pork is reaching border points. The Swine Health Information Center's latest swine disease global surveillance update includes information on the African Swine Fever outbreak in China and reports on an ASF study conducted in Australia. Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg says the greatest risk of introduction of ASF into North America is the movement of people themselves or contaminated pork products people may try to bring into the country with them. [Source: Farmscape.ca, 1/31/19, by Bruce Cochrane]

Clip-Dr. Paul Sundberg-Swine Health Information Center:
"Australia did a very interesting short term project over a period of a couple of weeks. They collected those pork products that they confiscated from international travelers and that happens with some regularity in all ports of entry. Certainly in the U.S. our Customs and Border Protection confiscates multiple products every week so that's not a surprise that those types of products were confiscated in Australian airports as well. In that project they did test those products for African Swine Fever contamination after they were confiscated and they did find that there was African Swine Fever in a number of those that they were able to test. I think it's and introduction of the virus through various pathways and this is certainly one that is very important and one that the Australians monitored to see if they would find the African Swine Fever virus and they did and that's a very informative project."

Dr. Sundberg says in the United States, whether tested or not, any confiscated meat product is considered to be contaminated and is destroyed in a manner that ensures nothing is able to escape.