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Indiana BOAH urges pork producers to participate in state biosecurity program

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health is reminding swine producers to participate in the state’s biosecurity program following the confirmation of African Swine Fever in the Dominican Republic.

State Veterinarian Dr. Bret Marsh says the program helps the industry prepare for the challenges of ASF.

“Indiana has the Securing Indiana’s Pork Supply Program. More than 1,000 premises in the state that have swine have been registered as a part of the program and we’re encouraging others who have not yet registered to do so,” he says.

The Indiana Board of Animal Health has veterinarians on staff who are trained as foreign animal disease diagnosticians.

“And so when we receive calls from producers or practicing veterinarians about a suspected foreign animal disease, we can dispatch our FADD’s so they can respond and collect the appropriate tissues and send them off to the appropriate laboratories,” he says. “This has been in place for some time, and we have conducted a number of foreign animal disease investigations throughout Indiana over the years but we’re particularly on high alert for ASF after the diagnosis in China in 2018.”

Marsh tells Brownfield it’s concerning that ASF was found in the western Hemisphere for the first time in 40 years. The board is encouraging producers to be on high alert and contact their local veterinarian with any unusual signs of high mortality or fever in pigs.

He says the Securing Indiana’s Pork Supply Program prepares producers through biosecurity, enhanced communication with the state board of animal health, and education about challenges they may have with swine diseases on their farms.   

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Audio: Bret Marsh