African swine fever was brought up at the Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Marissa Reisen informed the board during department updates that the swine virus has spread to the western hemisphere, specifically the Dominican Republic. While ASF is not a threat to human health and is not a food safety issue, it is a deadly disease that would have a significant impact on livestock producers, their communities, and the economy. Reisen says the State of Iowa participated in a nationwide exercise in September 2019 to practice what would happen if the disease spread to the U.S., “Everything locally got put on pause because of COVID, so I’ve been in contact with the ag Extension director and I have some farmers that I’m going to reach out to so that we can rekindle those discussions about ‘What if?’ In case people don’t know, Washington County is the third-largest hog producer in the nation and number one in the state of Iowa unless, we rotate with Sioux and Lyon for the top three. So if this were to come to the U.S. it would be bad for Washington County.”

Reisen said she wanted to make sure it was brought to the board’s attention that the virus is on her radar as she is keeping contact with local producers to make sure they are ready if it would come to Iowa. ASF has been found around the world including more recently in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, and parts of the European Union. Reisen encourages any local swine producers with questions or concerns to email her at mreisen@wps.co.washington.ia.us.