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On August 31, 2021, 333 Latam streamed a live event to explain the current situation and what is being done to contain the disease in this country. Dr. Israel Brito, president of the Dominican Federation of Pig Farmers (FEDEPORC), and Dr. Pedro Lora, pig farming consultant in the Dominican Republic, participated in the event.
The participants agreed that the current situation is very critical since 98% of the pig population is epidemiologically compromised in 25 of the 32 provinces of the country. In addition, although officially only 34 cases have been reported and geo-referenced, unofficially there is talk of at least 100 cases.
Because the Dominican Republic shares the island with Haiti, controlling the disease is very difficult because it is believed that the disease could have come from the neighboring country. According to unofficial information at the end of last year, a significant number of pigs died in Haiti, which caused a large influx of Haitians who came to buy animals for replacements in mid-2020. On the other hand, Dr. Pedro Lora affirms that 78% of pig farming is within a 150 km radius, which makes the situation very complex due to the short distances between farms and the difficulty of controlling animal movement. So far, 60,000 pigs from farm operations and backyard productions have been culled, and even farms of considerable size have been affected, some with up to 500 breeding sows.
Another topic discussed was the plans to control the disease. In this regard, the current plan is to slaughter affected animals and also those within 3 km of an outbreak; this is being done by electric shock and burial, and disinfection areas are being placed in the main entry routes of the provinces. Even so, cases have been reported in the extreme west and south of the country. This is related to the fact that the strain of the virus identified is the Georgia 2007 wild strain, genotype 2 with low pathogenicity, which means that affected pigs can be marketed without apparent clinical signs, and this contributes to the spread of the disease. In addition, Dr. Pedro said that there are plans to create a 15 km zone within the border with Haiti, in which no production animals will be allowed to be kept in order to reduce the sanitary risk that Haiti represents.
Thus, if the above plan does not work, it was mentioned that producers are considering the total eradication of the swine population, however, this would require a strong intervention by the government to recognize the commercial value of the total animal population. The interviewees also emphasize that control is difficult given the current situation in Haiti, which is facing a social, political and economic crisis that does not allow the country to take sanitary action and limits the availability of official information on the disease.
In conclusion, if it becomes necessary to eliminate the swine population as Dr. Israel indicates, the Dominican Republic will have to depend on the importation of pork from the United States, which would change the self-sufficient status that this country has maintained, producing 73% of the pork it consumes.
September 10, 2021/ 333 Staff.
