MAPA already has a validated method for diagnosing African Swine Fever

According to MAPA (the ministry of agriculture, livestock, and food supply), the LFDA Network (network of federal agricultural defense laboratories) is able to act in the event of a possible entry of the African Swine Fever virus (ASF) into Brazil. In the case of suspected ASF, the LFDA-MG is the official MAPA laboratory that will perform the diagnosis.

The standardization and verification of methods have been worked on since 2015 in Minas Gerais by the laboratory.  The laboratory completed the complete validation of its molecular techniques to diagnose the disease in October 2020. The expansion to carry out the diagnosis in other laboratories of the LFDA Network also is already being discussed at MAPA.

Diagnosis of ASF can be done by serological tests such as ELISA and immunoperoxidase, molecular PCR tests, and virus isolation in cells. Of the three methods, the most recommended and used test for the diagnosis of African Swine Fever is PCR.

African swine fever is a viral disease that poses no risk to human health but can decimate swine farms because it is highly transmissible. The economic impact of a possible reintroduction of ASF in the country ranges from direct damage caused by the disease to possible restrictions on the international market since swine products and by-products can be a source of virus introduction.

The arrival of ASF on the American continent, confirmed in July, increases the state of attention with intensifying measures to prevent the introduction of the disease in Brazil.

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