Panama, the south of Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Venezuela. But basically the main communication is with the United States, where about 2 million Dominicans are living.”
With the ASF outbreaks in the 1970s, it was decided to de- populate the whole island of pigs, let the virus disappear and then repopulate. Would you think that this is an option now to pursue? Dr Israel Brito: “The situations of the Dominican pig industry in 1978 and 2022 are totally different. Back then we had about 400,000 pigs. Nowadays, just before the virus came, we had 1.8 million pigs. This industry represents a huge amount of money. That is not only in the pigs, but also in the infrastructure, where you will also find the genetic value of the pigs. “Nowadays, the industry in the Dominican Republic represents a value of US$ 700 million, all in animals. And that, obviously, for a government like ours, is a significant amount of money and not very easy, as the government is also fighting the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. “In addition, the situation in the world regarding supply in the food chain is only getting worse due to the problems between Russia and Ukraine. The Dominican government has tried to minimise its impact on the food chain. “The spread of the virus throughout the Dominican territories, however, forced us to think that depopulation eventually may need to be a solution – albeit a solution of last resort. But we are talking about a virus for which there is no vaccine – and sooner or later it will arrive at farms.” Prof Paulino: “I agree. Recently I tweeted about the risk for the American continent if ASF would leave the country. It would then go on to affect more than 15 million sows, and around 250 to 300 million pigs would be affected. That would be a catastrophic economic loss not only for the American continent but also for the entire world, and would also lead to unemployment. “Given the risk of having the virus spread in the American con- tinent, it is my belief that the cost and the responsibility should be shared with the larger producers: United States (more than 4 million sows), Brazil (more than 4 million sows), Canada and Mexico (both with more than 1 million) and perhaps Colombia (500,000 sows). “There are certain benefits of depopulating the Dominican Re- public. Right now there are diseases endemic on the island, and by depopulating we would eradicate them. We are talking about Classical Swine Fever (CSF), Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED), swine influenza. It would give Dominican producers the opportu- nity to participate in the international market, something they are not able to do right now.”
Is there a national debate going on as to which route to take? Ranging from learning to live with it and increasing biosecurity – to on the other side total depopulation? Dr Israel Brito: “Obviously, yes. With over 25,000 producers there are always going to be very distinct opinions. But at the moment
in the Dominican Republic, given the current spread, there are no such levels of biosecurity that we could control it. Right now being infected is just a matter of luck.”
A quick look at your neighbours: does the ASF situation in Haiti – one of the poorest countries in the world – worry you? Dr Israel Brito: “Evidently, yes. And it should not only worry the Dominican Republic, but others as well. Given the social and polit- ical issues in Haiti, we can understand that this specific situation is not one of their priorities. Haiti has diagnosed the disease in the east and the west part of the country. In the east there is a frontier with the Dominican Republic where we have 362 km of very po- rous frontier. And also the situation in the west that is very close to Jamaica. What we are proposing is that we will have a 30 km buffer (sanitary strip) from the border with Haiti where we cannot have swine production within the Dominican territory.”
What is your opinion on the longer term situation for ASF on the island? Is it there to stay or will it be eradicated at some point? Dr Israel Brito: “That is a difficult question to answer, as we all know the virus is resistant. It can stay for years in the bone mar- row when refrigerated, for instance. When a virus comes to a country as small as ours, where the host of the virus is pigs, elimi- nation is not that simple. It is going to require a programme for a long time, and we are going to see its outcomes. The speed with which the outbreak locations have been presenting themselves shows that it is difficult to predict what is going to happen. We are up against an invisible enemy. It is difficult to control, and any object could be a fomite that could transmit the disease.” Prof Paulino: “I would like to add that we have known about this virus since 1921, when it was first described in Kenya. And now it has reached 53 countries in five continents globally. We have seen the situation in Russia, where both farms as well as wild boar have been affected for 15 years. We have seen the situation in China, with over 9 billion km2
– that big an expansion and they are still
dealing with the virus. Or the Philippines. There they tried to erad- icate the virus but they did not manage to do so. I want to know of a country that has managed to successfully eradicate the virus.”
Belgium and the Czech Republic have – having limited outbreaks in wild boar only. Prof Paulino: “Those were exceptional cases. The others have had the virus for many years and haven’t been able to eradicate it.”
So do you think that in five years or so it will be over? Dr Israel Brito: “As I see it now – no. I don’t think that the virus can disappear from the Dominican Republic in that time.”
The interview was held with the kind cooperation of Linda Brito and Dr Fausto Solis. For more information on the pig industry in the Dominican Republic, turn to pages 60–63.
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