Today, we are sharing a recent publication from the Secure Food Systems team at the University of Minnesota, in which they are performing a proactive analysis regarding transmission pathways that African Swine Fever could potentially take in pork harvest facilities.
Methods
This analysis was performed within the following confines:
- US pork harvest facilities of market hogs producing primal cuts
- International or cross-state movement of the facilities’ products
- Federal inspection
- Large facilities (>500 employees)
- One facility integrated in a system, one operating with external suppliers
- Pathways were categorized into fully mitigated, unmitigated, partially mitigated, unknown to be mitigated
Results
- 7 inputs were identified: people, live pigs, equipment/supplies/feed, vehicles, water, pests, ingredients such as animal-derived inputs
- Major outputs were grouped into people leaving the facility, vehicles, laundry, re-sale pigs, edible and inedible products, products for off-site rendering or disposal.
- Most of the inputs and outputs were found to be either partially mitigated, unmitigated or of unknown status.
- Water was the only input found to be fully mitigated whereas rendered/cooked products as well as meat and bone meal/protein meal and choice white grease processed on-site were the only outputs found to be fully mitigated.
Abstract
Proactive disease transmission pathway analyses break complex transmission routes into simpler steps, making risks and uncertainties easier to identify. This approach is especially valuable for African Swine Fever (ASF), a difficult-to-control disease in low-biosecurity settings or when biosecurity practices are inconsistently applied. To support targeted biosecurity planning, a pathway analysis was conducted that is specific to pork harvest facilities in the United States. The analysis focused on two federally inspected plants that slaughter market hogs and produce primal cuts. Inputs, outputs, and potential transmission pathways were identified through a literature review, site visits, and facility personnel interviews. Because ASF virus remains stable at low temperatures and in many pork products, particular attention was given to pathways involving storage conditions, waste materials, and processing steps such as heating or pH modification. Processing steps were evaluated against existing process control plans and ASF inactivation thresholds to determine mitigation status. Of 42 identified pathways, 39 were classified as unmitigated or of unknown mitigation status. These unmitigated or unknown pathways—broadly involving pigs, people, vehicles, and waste—represent the highest priorities for further risk assessment work and for exploring ways to develop or strengthen biosecurity protocols that reduce ASF transmission.