CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday pledged up to $500 million to prevent the spread of the fatal pig virus African swine fever, after the disease was detected recently in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The money, part of a larger USDA funding announcement, will be used to expand and coordinate monitoring, surveillance and other efforts to guard against the disease, which has never been found before in the United States, the agency said.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek)
