Guyana free of African swine fever, Suriname conducting survey

Last Updated on Monday, 20 October 2025, 21:14 by Writer

Guyana is free of African swine fever (ASF) based on latest tests conducted this year, even as neighbouring Suriname is collecting samples from pigs to send overseas for testing, officials said.

Agriculture minister Zulfikar Mustapha told Demerara Waves Online News that the tests show that Guyana us free of the disease. He said the data acquired from national tests that were conducted during the first half of 2025 were submitted to international organisations.

ASF is a highly contagious viral disease that affects both domestic and wild pigs. The virus spreads rapidly through direct contact or contaminated materials and has a high mortality rate.

In addition to equipping the Guyana Livestock Development Association’s laboratory with test kits, he said the agriculture ministry has established an agreement with reference centres in the United States and Brazil to “validate our test results.”

The ministry has also established a serum bank for future reference, and has increased surveillance and personnel at all ports of entry.

In the area of human resource development, the agriculture ministry said field training of staff has been conducted and other types of capacity building have been done in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The Ministry of Agriculture said it planned to continue to train its staff to deal with any eventuality, upgrade its test kits to meet global standards, and enact legislation to protect further Guyana’s pig population.

Across in neighbouring Suriname, the Directorate of Livestock of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries has launched a pilot survey on African swine fever in several districts to map the threat of the disease as a crucial step in national preparedness.

The government’s communications service said the team, under the leadership of state veterinarian Richenel Kartodiwongso, was aiming to collect a total of 100 blood samples to be sent to a foreign laboratory for analysis. So far samples have been collected from the districts of Saramacca, Wanica, Nickerie, Coronie, and Commewijne.

The Suriname government said the survey is part of the larger project “Capacity Building for African Swine Fever Surveillance and Response for the Caribbean, Central America, and the Andean Region,” funded by the USDA.

The Caribbean and the Americas rely heavily on agriculture, including pig farming, for their food security and income.

The Suriname government said after 40 years of being ASF-free, the disease has unfortunately been reintroduced to the region since 2021, with outbreaks in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This reintroduction, along with the increase in ASF in Europe, Asia, and Africa since 2019, underscores the urgent need for improved ASF preparedness and management skills, the government in the capital, Paramaribo, said.