African Swine Fever (ASF) Story Map (USDA-APHIS-EMSSD)

ASF Action Week October 2 - 6, 2023


Introduction to African Swine Fever 

African swine fever (ASF) is a deadly pig disease that spreads rapidly and affects both domestic and feral swine. While not a threat to human health, the virus has been spreading across the globe for decades devastating swine, pork industries, and food supplies around the world.

In 2021, ASF was detected in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This proximity poses an increased threat to the health of U.S. swine. ASF is difficult to control and has devastating consequences. Millions of pigs were depopulated worldwide because of this disease. Currently, the United States remains ASF free, but the threat remains high.



Global Spread & History 

ASF was first described in 1921 in Kenya. For more than 30 years, it spread in several sub-Saharan African countries but remained on the African Continent until 1957.

ASF reached Europe in 1957 when it was detected in a Portugal pig farm but was quickly eradicated. Just three years later, in 1960, the disease reappeared in Portugal and rapidly spread to Spain and France. ASF remained in Europe until 1995 when the continent saw a break from the disease.

ASF was re-introduced in Europe in 2007 through Georgia and spread relatively uncontrollably. 



Current Global Situation 

For the past decade, Europe has continued to suffer from ASF. In 2014, ASF entered the European Union (EU) through Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia, followed by nine other European countries.

It wasn’t until August of 2018 that ASF was detected in Asia. In China, it spread more rapidly than in other regions and affected more than a dozen other Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.

At the same time, other European countries—including Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Italy, and Germany, and most recently Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo—also experienced ASF incursions.

In July 2021, the first ASF detection was reported in the Western Hemisphere, in the Dominican Republic. Later reports followed shortly thereafter in Haiti.

ASF continues to spread and impact the health and livelihood of swine industries worldwide.



By The Numbers

Cost of ASF

History has shown ASF outbreaks have devastating effects. The cost of ASF is profound and if it reaches the U.S., it will likely become the largest foreign animal disease emergency we have faced. ASF would devastate our agricultural economy. It would cost billions in lost production and trade and impact millions of consumers.

Preliminary estimates suggest ASF could result in as much as $15 billion in losses to the U.S. pork industry based on a 2-year scenario, or $74 billion in losses if we are unable to contain and eliminate it in an ‘all-years’ scenario.



What's at Stake

If ASF is found in the U.S.—beyond the protection zone we’ve set up in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—we’d immediately lose overseas export markets.

With no treatment for ASF and a mortality rate of nearly 100 percent, the United States cannot afford to let ASF reach our shores. The U.S. Pork industry generates more than $28 billion in marketed sales, supports over $35 billion in personal income, and contributes more than $57 billion in value added to the gross domestic product, with more than $7 billion in pork exports.



The U.S. Pork Industry 

The U.S. pork industry makes up a significant part of the U.S. economy. The United States has more than 66,000 pork producers. The introduction of ASF would threaten approximately 72 million pigs that make up the current U.S. pork inventory. Also, ASF would threaten the livelihoods of more than 610,000 people employed in every aspect of the industry.*



What USDA is doing to Protect Our Pigs

The persisting threat of ASF looms heavily over the United States, and presence in the Western Hemisphere heightens the risk of an introduction. To combat this risk, APHIS has longstanding safeguards in place to prevent ASF entry, establishment, and spread. These safeguards include import restrictions, diagnostics, surveillance, and targeted response strategies.

When ASF reached the Dominican Republic and Haiti, USDA reviewed and strengthened many of these safeguards.  Since 2021, APHIS has bolstered these safeguards even more.

•      Increased restrictions on imports of pork and pork products from affected countries.

•      Worked more closely with Customs and Border Protection staff at ports of entry.

•      Increased attention to passengers and products arriving from affected countries.

•      Continued collaboration with states, industry and producers to relay the importance of strict biosecurity procedures.

•      Evaluated and improved response plans and have incident management teams ready to deploy should a detection occur in the U.S.

APHIS has taken several critical steps in support of these response strategies to enhance U.S. swine industry security in the event of an ASF outbreak: the preparation of an ASF declaration of extraordinary emergency, implementation of a national movement standstill, ASF protection zone, amplified targeted surveillance for domestic and feral swine, and continued exploration of the most effective methods for swine depopulation and disposal.



Continued Commitment 

USDA remains committed to making every effort to prevent ASF from reaching the United States. However, out of an abundance of caution we are preparing for an incursion so the U.S. will be capable of returning to an ASF-free status without the response effort causing more disruption and damage than the outbreak itself.

Free resources and information are available at the  Protect Our Pigs  website. For more information, access material that address ASF on the  APHIS website .