strategic plan for passive surveillance, which includes a regular schedule of sampling and monitoring of farms and slaughterhouses to prevent possible outbreaks. During an intensive program of work, IICA and USDA experts worked closely with the Official Veterinary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security of Barbados, and developed strategies and field activities aimed at preventing this viral disease in the country and the Caribbean region.
Barbados, 10 October 2024 (IICA) – A technical mission in Barbados from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), under the USDA-IICAAfrican Swine Fever (ASF) Capacity Building Project for Central America and the Caribbean, marked the beginning of field tests to strengthen local capacities for the surveillance and containment of ASF. During an intensive program, experts from IICA and USDA worked closely with the Official Veterinary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Nutritional Security of Barbados, developing field strategies and activities aimed at preventing this viral disease in the country and the Caribbean region.
The work on the island included technical meetings and visits to pig farms, where samples were collected for early virus detection. This initiative is part of the USDA-IICAASF Capacity Building Project for Central America and the Caribbean.
It represents the first direct effort in Caribbean farms for the early detection of this highly contagious viral disease and sets the stage for future monitoring efforts in other participating countries. IICA and USDA experts, alongside the Barbadian veterinary team, designed a national passive surveillance plan, which includes a regular sample collection schedule and farm and slaughterhouse monitoring to prevent potential outbreaks.
One of the key outcomes of the mission was the formation of a technical team in Barbados prepared to begin early surveillance efforts. The project is progressing, with Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana as the next Caribbean countries to be sampled.
These countries were selected due to their proximity to Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where ASF is present. The IICA and USDA-led project will participate in Agriculture Week in St. Vincent, where a workshop on ASF compensation and sanitary insurance will be held, and the results of the past year will be presented to CARICOM ministers and heads of veterinary services.
IICA and USDA also plan to launch the project in the Andean region in 2025, incorporating countries from that region as project beneficiaries. By the end of 2024, sampling is expected to be completed in three Caribbean countries, with surveillance plans
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