Dr. Megan Niederwerder, associate director of the Swine Health Information Center in Iowa received a 4-year grant from the US federal government to study the susceptibility of soybean feed ingredients to contamination by the ASF virus.

The rapid spread of the African swine fever virus (ASFV), causing severe disease with often high fatality rates in pigs, prevails as a threat for pig populations and dependent industries worldwide. Although advancing scientific progress continually enhances the industry's understanding of ASFV pathogenesis, alternative transmission routes for ASFV have yet to be assessed. A recent study demonstrated that ASFV can efficiently be transferred from infected boars to naïve recipient gilts through artificial insemination (AI).