January 18, 2021

11,000 ASF cases among wild boars in EU as outbreaks involving domestic animals fall
          

The European Union has reported 11,000 cases of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar, almost 4,000 more than the previous year.

In contrast, the number of outbreaks in domestic animals has decreased.

Data provided by the European Union Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS) on ASF cases in the EU are not very positive in terms of the spread of the disease in wild boar, while outbreaks in domestic pigs have dropped.

Last year, the disease appeared for the first time in Germany and Greece. In Germany, the disease was confirmed last September and so far has only affected wild boar, although more than 400 cases have been confirmed. Greece confirmed a single outbreak in domestic animals in March.

While the number of outbreaks in domestic pigs in 2020 (1,199) has decreased compared to 2019 (1,848) and 2018 (1,344), the significant increase in the number of outbreaks in Poland (103), which managed to decrease in 2019 (48), is noteworthy. Romania continues to lead the list of countries with the most outbreaks in domestic pigs by far, with 1,053 confirmed outbreaks.

In regard to cases in wild boar, ASF infections has been rampant. In the EU, almost 4,000 more outbreaks have been confirmed than last year (10,929 cases in 2020 compared to 6,396 in 2019).

Hungary - where the disease was first confirmed in 2018 - has gone from 138 outbreaks in 2018 to 1,598 in 2019 and reached 4,001 outbreaks in 2020.

Poland has also doubled the number of cases in wild boar from almost 2,500 in 2019 to 4,070 in 2020.

- Pig333 / ADNS