(NAFB) – The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will host African Swine Fever Action Week September 13-17.

The goal is to encourage swine producers to take part in multiple webinars to learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the American swine herd. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack emphasized the importance of keeping the devastating disease out of the U.S.

“This disease does not affect people and can’t be transmitted from pigs to humans, and it’s not a food safety issue,” the Secretary says. “However, ASF is incredibly destructive, and we need you to be informed.”

Every day during the week, APHIS will host a webinar beginning at 2:00 pm Eastern Time every day and covers different topics. They include where ASF exists and what’s at stake, the steps that APHIS is taking to prevent and prepare for ASF, the benefits of biosecurity, what to expect in an ASF outbreak, and the feral swine factor in ASF. The webinars will also be recorded for viewing later.

“The disease was recently confirmed less than a thousand miles away in the Dominican Republic,” Vilsack says. “ASF has never been detected in the United States, and we are committed to keeping it out and protecting our vital swine industry.”