Guatemala and FAO unite to prevent African swine fever

The meeting was an opportunity to evaluate the actions implemented in countries that already have the disease and those that do not yet. The intention is to reinforce messages to both the production sector and the general population, especially those who travel to countries with the potential for the disease. In this regard, FAO supports outreach campaigns on the radio, in print, and on social networks.

To date, Guatemala remains free of African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever, thanks to the intense work of border control, training, and implementation of biosecurity measures promoted by the authorities from the Vice Ministry of Agricultural Health and Regulations (VISAR), in conjunction with the International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA).

Guatemala is one of the largest pork producers in Central America. This sector has at least 1,500,000 pigs and provides approximately 10,000 direct jobs and 60,000 indirect jobs.

So far in 2023, the detection dogs used at La Aurora International Airport have led to 5451 seizures representing more than 1940 kilograms of raw pork, sausage, salami, ham, bacon, and other pork sausages from the Dominican Republic.

The meeting concluded that communication is key to conveying the message that preventive work must be strengthened as the best strategy to avoid the entry of the disease and reduce the impact on the production sector in the region.

August 8, 2023/ Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Food/ Guatemala.
https://www.maga.gob.gt/