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USDA Adds Georgia to ASF Positive Regions

September 27, 2007 — 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued an interim rule listing the Republic of Georgia among the regions where African swine fever (ASF) is known to exist.

This change in designation, following a number of confirmed outbreaks of ASF in the Republic of Georgia, affects the regulations governing the importation of pork and pork products from the country. Pork or pork products from countries where ASF exists only can enter the United States if: (1) the product has been fully cooked by a commercial method in a container hermetically sealed promptly after filling but before such cooking, so that such cooking and sealing produced a fully-sterilized product which is shelf-stable without refrigeration; (2) and the processing establishment complies with the requirements for further processing of such pork or pork product by heat. In addition, a certificate accompanying the product as well as strict quarantine and inspection practices are required at U.S. ports of entry.

[Ed. Note: The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the European Commission and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) sent a joint team to Georgia in June to assess the ASF situation. The mission called for immediate and rigorous control measures and recognized the need for international assistance. It is estimated that the outbreak began on April 22 around the port city of Poti through the importation of contaminated pork or pork waste. The disease has since spread to the autonomous republic Abkhazia in the north of Georgia and to Armenia.

In another report involving ASF, it appears the disease continues to be active in Africa as well. A suspected outbreak has been reported in Gambia on the west coast of Africa. According to local media reports, the disease is being blamed in the deaths of 453 hogs in the Old Jeshwang area.

Similarly, Nigeria reported an outbreak of ASF to the OIE on Sept. 28, 2007. According to the report, the outbreak actually began on July 5th and marks the first reported case of ASF in Nigeria since November, 2005. The Outbreak is located in Gombe and has resulted in 380 clinical cases in a herd of 3420 swine. The current case fatality rate is 84.74%.

The continued spread of ASF is concerning considering the fact that the U.S. currently has no on-going research into developing diagnostics or countermeasures to address the disease. Research projects, which were reportedly close to developing an effective vaccine, were discontinued at Plum Island in 2003 in order to fund the USDA's portion of the costs associated with DHS's takeover of the facility.]