The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will be training and adding 60 beagle teams to customs and border patrol checks at key US commercial, sea and air ports in a bid to keep African swine fever (ASF) out of the country.

The virus has recently ripped through China, resulting in the death and culling of almost 1m pigs, with no sign of the outbreak slowing down.

Although humans are not susceptible to the disease, there are no cures or vaccines which means it is usually deadly and highly infectious through cross-contamination.

Europe

Last September, ASF was discovered in wild boar in Belgium and early this year another two confirmed cases of ASF in wild boar 1km from the French border prompted French authorities to create a boar-free zone spanning several kilometres along their shared border with Belgium.

Polish authorities have also stated that they intend to cull up to 185,000 wild boar in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Department of Agriculture in Ireland has asked the public not to bring any pork products from abroad into the country.

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