Innovative research aims to safeguard US pork industry
Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife are at the forefront of efforts to protect the US pork industry from the devastating impacts of the African swine fever virus (ASFV).
A new initiative, backed by an $800,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, focuses on developing state-of-the-art surveillance tools to detect and prevent the spread of ASFV.
The project is led by Gabriel Hamer, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Entomology. The team also includes Pete Teel, Ph.D., and Job Lopez, Ph.D., alongside international collaborators from Uganda, where ASFV is already a significant problem.
Their primary goal is to minimize the risk of ASFV establishing itself in the US, where it could have severe repercussions for the pork industry.
ASFV poses a major threat to swine populations worldwide, having caused substantial losses in China and reemerging in the Caribbean recently.
The virus’s proximity to the US has put federal and state agencies on high alert, emphasizing the need for effective surveillance and prevention strategies.
The Texas A&M team is working on two fronts. They are improving a bloodmeal analysis tool to identify tick-host interactions in wild and domestic swine populations, and they are refining a blood test that can detect swine exposure to tick bites. These tools will help scientists assess the risk of ASFV transmission via ticks and feral swine, which are widespread across at least 35 US states.
This proactive research aims to stay ahead of ASFV by understanding how and where the virus could gain a foothold in the US.
By developing reliable methods to measure interactions between ticks and swine, researchers hope to guide future prevention and control measures effectively, ensuring the safety and sustainability of the US pork industry.