America rallied to counter the spread of ASF

The US pig industry has joined PPA (ASF) Latam to find ways to prevent further outbreaks of African swine fever.

PPA (ASF) Latam, a group formed by Latin American countries, now includes members of the U.S. swine industry, helping expand continental disease prevention efforts. Since August 2021, outbreaks of ASF have been reported in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the situation has raised alarms in both North and South America.

A panel formed by the Brazilian Animal Producers Association (ABPA) and 20 other national organizations from 18 Latin American countries to develop African swine fever (ASF) prevention strategies received important reinforcements this week: the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), an organization representing the US pig industry became a member of the Continental Crisis Committee.

With the strengthening of the NPPC, the group must increase the integration and harmonization of work in order to prevent the disease from entering the American mainland.

Currently, ASF has been registered in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic, located on the island of Hispaniola. Like Brazil and other countries on the continent, the United States supports both countries in their efforts to eradicate outbreaks.

With the addition of the NPPC, the group - formerly PPA Prevention Latam - is renamed "Prevention PPA America" ​​in reference to the African swine fever (PPA in Spanish) prevention campaign in the Americas.

“Recent cases in Europe, Asia, Africa and on the island of Hispaniola show the importance of the preventive work that is already underway in various countries of the Americas. Maintaining the health of the continent is a priority and all organizations are committed to this goal,” said Sulivan Alves, CTO of ABPA, one of the founders of the group.

The entry of the NPPC was approved by the group in the second half of December. The Prevention PPA America committee discusses new actions for the 2022 strategic agenda for disease prevention.

As a result, the group included the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, USA, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.