A recent study shows sampling and laboratory capacity to be major areas of concern in the event of an African Swine Fever outbreak in the U.S.
“The key to managing an ASFV outbreak is in testing and containing the infection,” says Jason Galvis, research scholar at North Carolina State University. “But in areas with dense farm populations, getting the tests done in a timely way may be difficult. We looked at the current protocols and modeled what might happen during an outbreak.”
Laboratory capacity was also a concern, as only specific labs have the ability to process these samples. The model capped daily laboratory capacity in the study area at 1,000 samples per day. The median delay for processing without sample pooling was 92 days, which went up to a maximum of five years in the worst scenarios. ASFV is a highly contagious viral disease in pigs, with a mortality rate that can reach 100%.
