Pig Health Program: Results of Three Months Work

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) are implementing the project "Ensuring Animal Health in Ukraine".

It aims to conduct disease risk assessments, raise awareness, and provide advice on biosecurity and swine diseases, and improve disease surveillance and control at all stages of pork production.

Over the past three months, within the framework of the project «Ensuring Animal Health in Ukraine»:

• In cooperation with the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (the competent authority), 300 market players (industrial farms, households, hunting grounds, territorial bodies of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, private veterinarians, and laboratories) have been interviewed to assess the risks of disease spread, including ASF, as well as the practice of using antimicrobials in times of war. The survey covered issues related to the prevention and control of animal diseases, biosecurity measures, access to critical production resources (including veterinary products), sales channels for animals and pig products, etc.;
• training of specialists of the competent authority both online and on-site (in agri-food markets), with elements of simulation of detection of possible infection and breaking the chain of its spread. As a result, a standard operating procedure was developed;
• Cooperation with American experts on the preparation of video materials on best practices for biosecurity of domestic farms has been agreed.

SOURCE: pigua.info